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Revolt Simmers at Church
Some denominations choose pastors and make decisions by popular vote, but the Catholic Church is among those in which church officials decide. Popes issue decrees. Higher-ups tell pastors when to move on. Parishioners, after having had their say, comply with the decisions of their priest.
But order has broken down so thoroughly in this case that the auxiliary bishop of Washington, the Rev. Martin Holley, has sent word that the upset group should obey the pastor or find another church.
  The Rev. Donald Fest greets parishioners after a Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Anacostia. (Photos By Bill O'leary -- The Washington Post) |
"I have never seen a group of parishioners write a list of demands and take this approach," said Susan Gibbs, Holley's spokeswoman. "The people have had an opportunity many times to have their views heard."
Alston, a determined man, is just as adamant. "I'm supposed to sit down and shut up like a child?" he asked. "They think it's their way or the highway, but it's not going to happen like that. We're grown people."
The result is chaos.
"We don't know from Sunday to Sunday if this is going to be a peaceful Sunday or everyone is going to be in an uproar," said parishioner Carolyn Wheeler, 62, whose grandfather was a founder of Our Lady.
Unsettling Changes
Eighty-five years ago, black Catholics, relegated to the basements of segregated churches, founded Our Lady with the help of sympathetic whites. The church became a landmark, what the archdiocese calls one of its jewels, and the Panorama Room became famous for its hilltop vista -- with views of two states and the District -- and its cabarets, political gatherings and town meetings. In 1989, Ted Koppel brought ABC's "Nightline" in for a forum on urban violence.
Priests -- black and white -- came and went. Issues were resolved with give and take, Alston said, but when Fest arrived two years ago, the decrees started coming.
The one that perhaps disturbed some congregants the most was the one that put Brother Marx Tyree, the subject of Alston's flier, in charge of running a slew of church activities. Those who were disgruntled, mostly the suspended members, did not like that, either, even though Tyree, a member of the same religious order as Fest, has been at Our Lady for 17 years. They say he changes meetings at a whim and refuses to answer their questions, too.
"Brother Marx is arrogant, condescending and authoritarian in his demeanor," the suspended men wrote to Fest late last year. They demanded that he be sent somewhere else.
Fest said Tyree is a tireless worker who is well-liked by many at Our Lady and effective at the tasks he is given. He said neither he nor Tyree is going anywhere until reassigned. Tyree, who is black, did not want to be interviewed, Fest said.
"We've existed for 2,000 years," Fest said of the Catholic Church. "This parish has existed for 85 years. The pastor has certain rights and responsibilities. It's not a majority-rule kind of thing."