Committee to Save St. Philip School, Pittsburgh diocese clash over items removed from building
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An ongoing dispute regarding the future of St. Philip School — which the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh plans to merge despite strong opposition — escalated Thursday morning when police responded to the school as diocesan officials removed some equipment from the building.
A spokesman for the Committee to Save St. Philip School — which is working to reverse the decision — allege that officials from the Diocese of Pittsburgh removed property belonging to the parish.
The diocese, however, explained that a contracted computer company was removing technology that belonged to the government.
“We are grateful for what we are able to provide for our students through government grants, and we are committed to being good stewards of what we’ve been given,” diocesan spokeswoman Jennifer Antkowiak said. “We were acting responsibly in compliance with government regulations.”
The South Regional Catholic Elementary Schools (SRCES) board, which oversees Catholic elementary schools in the region, in February made a decision to merge St. Philip School — an elementary school in Crafton — with St. Margaret of Scotland in Green Tree. According to the SRCES plan, students from both schools would attend the Green Tree location in the upcoming academic year.
The Committee to Save St. Philip School has appealed to the Vatican to revoke the decision to merge the schools, invalidate the “alienation” of the school from St. Philip Parish and return the school to patrimony of St. Philip Parish.
The committee has made three appeals to the Vatican regarding the dispute over the school, said Colin Wrabley, the committee’s spokesman.
One of the appeals, which relates to property, received a response this week from Cardinal Beniamino Stella, prefect for the Vatican’s Congregation for Clergy. Stella rejected Wrabley’s appeal in a letter shared with both the Committee to Save St. Philip School and the Diocese of Pittsburgh.
“What this letter is saying, in clear terms, it’s saying the petition, the appeal that Mr. Wrabley sent to the congregation, has been rejected. It’s very clear,” said The Rev. Michael Sedor, director for canonical services with the Diocese of Pittsburgh.
Wrabley, however, said he interprets the letter to say that all property in the building still belongs to the parish.
“What we know under canon law is the property belongs to the parish — all of it,” Wrabley said, adding that he believed the parish had the right to keep even equipment purchased through government grants or funding.
The only property removed from the school was “technology that belongs to the government,” according to Antkowiak.
“Nothing belonging to the parish was removed,” she said.
Crafton Police Chief Mark Sumpter confirmed that police were called to the school in relation to the incident around 10:45 a.m. Thursday. He said it was a civil issue, no charges were filed and therefore he could not provide further comment.
“It’s not a good situation,” Sumpter said.
School representatives began their accounting of property at the school on Thursday, Antkowiak said, a process that is “the same protocol we have followed for the past 30 years whenever a school closes or merges.”
Another appeal to the Vatican meant to address the school merger has not yet received a response, Sedor said.
The ruling from Stella — which denied Wrabley’s appeal — was dealing strictly with property ownership. Stella, Sedor said, is writing on behalf of the Congregation for Clergy, which has jurisdiction over ownership of property.
Another appeal to the Congregation for Catholic Education is still pending, Sedor said.