Church Uses Old and New for Rising again - Diocese of Antigonish

The Atlantic Catholic — May 29, 2010Diocesan NewsPage 3Diocese To Place 400 Properties for Saleby Connor MacEachernThe Diocese of Antigonish hasraised about one-third of the moneynecessary to cover legal settlementand sexual abuse lawsuit costs.Diocesan spokesperson FatherPaul Abbass broke the news toparishioners in Port Hawkesbury,Antigonish and Sydney May 17to 19.“We have commitments of closeto $6 million,” he said. “That prettymuch taps out what we can expectfrom that particular exercise of thepooling of liquid assets.”Parishes in the Diocese wereasked to contribute all but essentialmoney to the legal settlementfund, which meant larger parishesdonated much more than others,Father Abbass said.“It’s hard to say that there’sany fair practice going on here,”he said.“It’s equal to every parish in thesense that every parish is asked foreverything.”The remaining $12.5 millionmust come from the sale of all“non-core assets,” which include allproperty except occupied churchesand glebe houses, Father Abbasssaid.Father Abbass said he didn’tknow the market value of theproperties. A financial study byErnst and Young said the Diocesewould be able to meet the fiscalresponsibilities if all propertiesVisitors, vendors, volunteers andpowwow performers can now logon to www.Membertou400.com formore information on the June 24 to27 celebrations marking the 400thanniversary of the baptism of GrandChief Henri Membertou.The Membertou 400 site explainshow to apply to be a vendor orregister as a volunteer and listspowwow prize packages and specialhotel rates for the thousands ofpeople expected to attend AtlanticCanada’s largest gathering of FirstNation people.The Grand Chief Membertou 400celebrations begin June 24 at PortFr. Paul Abbass and Diocese of Antigonish legal and financial settlementcommittee member Jim Gogan, led a meeting at St. Ninian Place inAntigonish May 18 to discuss how the diocese will proceed to raise the$18.5 million necessary for legal settlement and sexual abuse lawsuits.(Connor MacEachern photo)were sold, he added.At the meeting in AntigonishMay 18, parishioners were told thetwo-storey Bishop’s residence willbe considered a core asset.“It would just seem to me that’s acore asset because it’s a residence,”Father Abbass said.Father Abbass said he understandswhy some parishioners would wantto see the house up for sale.Website Promotes Membertou 400Royal National Historic Site withan open-air Mass and re-enactmentof the historic baptism. The eventmoves to the Halifax Common June25 to 27, for one of the country’slargest powwows, or mawio’mi inthe mi’kmaw language.Membertou 400 will feature anauthentic Mi’kmaw village wherevisitors can interact with aboriginalartists and artisans, learn abouttraditional healing methods, samplenative cuisine and hear Mi’kmaqelders share their oral history.Admission is free.Other highlights includeaboriginal dance and drum“The thinking behind it iseveryone is sacrificing.”Many meetings “with a whole lotof stakeholders” would have to takeplace before such a recommendationcould be made, he added.T h e C a t h o l i c E p i s c o p a lCorporation of Antigonish – thecorporate arm of the Diocese – hascontributed about $2 million tovarious legal fees. The $2 millioncompetitions featuring First Nationperformers from across Canada andthe United States, and a free concertby Canadian icon and AcademyAward winner Buffy Sainte MarieThe Membertou 400 site is also agreat resource to learn about GrandChief Membertou and Mi’kmaqhistory and culture.Grand Chief Membertou was aMi’kmaq shaman and prophet. OnJune 24, 1610, he became the firstaboriginal person in what wouldbecome Canada to be baptized,signalling the Mi’kmaw people’sdesire for peaceful relations withEuropean nations.“It’s equal to every parish in the sense thatevery parish is asked for everything.”— Father Paul Abbass,Diocese of Antigonish spokesmanis not included in the $6 milliontotal, legal and financial settlementcommittee member Jim Gogan saidin an email.“There have been expensesfor this all the way along,” FatherAbbass added.T h e C a t h o l i c E p i s c o p a lCorporation is also the majorityshareholder of The Casket Printingand Publishing Company. FatherAbbass said a decision has notyet been made whether to sell theshares.“I know that other members ofthe committee have said that it is anasset that we can certainly use, butit’s being looked at from a varietyof different perspectives.”The shares are not protectedfrom being sold, he added.Consultant Jeanie McCharleswill oversee the sale of all properties,Father Abbass said.“She will work directly withthe legal and financial settlementcommittee,” he said. “It’s herresponsibility to co-ordinate theland sales.”McCharles said about 400properties are eligible for sale.McCharles said she’s meetingwith Diocesan representatives thisweek to “develop a program and astandard” for the sales.Once the details are finalized,properties will be up for sale.Father Abbass said parishionerswill have the first chance to buyany properties.“Parishioners might, for verypractical reasons, see a use for a noncoreasset and wish to collectivelypurchase it back.”If parishioners refuse to make anoffer on a property, it will be listedpublicly, he added.Father Abbass said the series ofmeetings went well.“There were lots of questionsand lots of concerns, of course,”he said. “We did our very bestto answer questions and hear theconcerns of the people.”Veritas Catholic Books and GiftsCheck with Veritas for allyour church needs:hosts, altar wines, candles,vestments and vessels1546 Barrington Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 3X7Tel: (902) 429-7216; fax: (902) 429-7237email: info@veritasbooks.caSt. Bernard’s Veritas Outlet, EnfieldTel: 883-8834 Fax: 883-2461And in Cape Breton:Veritas Volunteer Extension & Lending Library35 Rear Intervale Rd. 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