We, the community of Transfiguration Church, are appalled to learn of the elimination of Mrs. Paulina Cheng Hardatt’s position and the termination of her employment. The role Paulina filled for the last 28-plus years has sustained the lifeblood of our church, and had been a critical factor in what enabled this parish to thrive. The loss of this position and especially without Paulina in it, will prove detrimental to the parish as it faces the challenges and complexity of absorbing its expanded scope of community responsibilities and the ongoing adaptation to the COVID-19 pandemic. By this action, the Archdiocese has eliminated the “glue” that has held this Parish and our community together over three decades and through these trying times.

The parish is now left without its key administrative personnel. There is no one within the congregation or the professional staff of Transfiguration that possesses Paulina’s skillset. The languages spoken at Transfiguration Church are English, Cantonese, and Mandarin—Paulina is fluent in all three. Her institutional knowledge and network within both Transfiguration - enabling our service to the youth, our elders, immigrants - and the greater Chinatown community is irreplaceable. She possesses an extraordinary sense of dedication, high intelligence and competence, and served with integrity as Assistant to our recently departed former Pastor, Reverend Raymond Nobiletti, M.M., and to the two subsequent Pastoral Administrators appointed by the Archdiocese.

We find this action to have been undertaken in blatant disregard for the history and need of our community. Furthermore, how this position was eliminated went further by implication to malign the person who served this church and community faithfully for nearly 29 years. This decision overlooks someone who has legitimate ties and understanding of our community, who speaks the languages of our community, who can negotiate on our behalf, and who understands the complex web of relationships and requirements learned and managed through direct, long-term experience.

There is no question that this decision was made without a clear understanding or regard for the people of our congregation. This dismissal is another link in the chain of callous, unilateral actions undertaken by the Archdiocese in recent years, that have signaled to our faithful in Lower Manhattan that their perspective is neither considered nor valued. No members of either our Parish Council or at-large members of the congregation were consulted about what the consequences of Paulina’s departure might be. We have been told that volunteers from the parish are expected to take on Paulina’s work—we must respectfully inform you that this expectation is implausible and absurd. It is impossible for any number of volunteers to fulfill what Paulina accomplished on a daily basis. 

We fear the imminent demise of a once-thriving Chinese American Catholic community that was a hallmark for this New York Archdiocese and the American Catholic Church. Our hearts break at this prospect. We as a congregation have so much to offer current and future generations of Lower Manhattan and Chinese American parishioners, and the Church at large. This work cannot continue without the understanding from the Archdiocese of our community’s needs. 

Mrs. Paulina Cheng Hardatt represents the best of our community’s sense of service, love and dedication—not just in Chinatown, but for her peers and fellow Catholics across the Archdiocese. 

我們，顯聖容天主堂的堂區教友，對 Paulina Cheng Hardatt－鄭鴻敏寶琳娜，的職位，堂區行
政助理，被取消和終止她的工作感到震驚。在過去超過 28年的服務，寶琳娜在堂區中一直扮演
著維持我們教區命脈的角色，並且她是使這個教區蓬勃發展的關鍵因素。失去這個職位，尤其是
沒有 Paulina寶琳娜 的情況下，將明顯地對本堂區不利，因為它正面臨著合倂堂區後，擴大了
的堂區責任和不斷適應冠狀病毒大流行的挑戰和複雜性。總教區這次解僱行動，會將過去 30 年
我們的堂區和本地社區艱難地團結在一起的“粘合劑”消滅。

堂區現在沒有了關鍵的行政人員！同時堂區中沒有一位專業人員能擁有像Paulina的技能。顯聖
容天主堂的堂區語言是英語、廣東話和普通話， Paulina能流利地操這三種語言。她在堂區中熟
識機構的知識和網絡，充份地使我們堂區能夠為年輕人、老年人和移民服務，這在唐人街社區中
是不可替代的。她擁有非凡的奉獻精神、高智商和能力，並以正直的態度擔任我們最近離任的前
神父 Rev. Raymond Nobiletti, M.M. 盧樂民神父，以及隨後由大主教管區任命的兩位神父的助
理。

我們發現這一次解僱行動是在公然無視我們社區的歷史和需求的情況下進行的。此外，這個職位
被取消的方式，進一步暗示了對近 29 年來忠實地為這個堂區和社區服務的人的誹謗。該決定忽
略了與我們的社區有合法聯繫和了解的權利，我們需要有會説我們社區的語言、有長期經驗、能
代表我們進行協商、直接了解、管理及熟識複雜關係網絡和要求的人。

毫無疑問，辭退Paulina的決定是在沒有明確理解或考慮我們會眾的情況下做出的。這種解僱是
近年來大主教管區採取的一連串冷酷單方面行動中的另一個環節，這些行動向我們在曼哈頓下城
的信徒發出了信號，即他們的觀點既不被考慮也不被重視。我們的堂區委員會成員或一般的會眾
都沒有被諮詢過Paulina離開的後果會是什麼! 我們被告知，來自教區的志願者將承擔她的工作
——我們必須恭敬地告知您，這種期望是不合理和荒謬的。任何數量的志願者都不可能完成
Paulina 每天完成的工作。

我們擔心曾經繁榮的華裔美國天主教堂區即將消亡，這原來是紐約大主教管區和美國天主教會的
標誌。看到這個前景，我們的心都碎了。作為一個會眾，我們有很多東西可以傳遞給我們這一代

人和未來幾代曼哈頓下城和華裔美國教區民眾，以至整個教會。如果總教區不了解我們社區的需
求，這項工作就無法繼續。

Paulina Cheng Hardatt，鄭鴻敏寶琳娜，代表了我們社區最好的服務意識、愛心和奉獻精神
——不僅在唐人街，而且為她的同齡人和整個大主教管區的天主教徒同胞。