JAMESTOWN, N.Y. — Some church closures across Western New York are on hold, as parishioners got a letter from the Vatican stating it has received their appeal to keep SS. Peter & Paul Roman Catholic Church open and suspended the merger with nearby St. James until the case is reviewed.

"Very relieved," said Samantha Scalise, procurator, Holy Apostles Parish. "There were many people that did not think that we were even going to get this far."

What You Need To Know

  • Roughly 14 churches in the Diocese of Buffalo have an appeal at the Vatican to stay open

  • The appeal process is now on hold in wake of pope's death until a new one is chosen

  • The Diocese of Albany and Syracuse are also facing church closures

Now parishes with an appeal pending are going to have to wait a little longer for a decision, as the death of Pope Francis has put the process on hold until a new pope is selected.

“So we were already prepared to wait for potentially a long amount of time, and honestly this makes sense that there would be a delay. It's hard to be frustrated or upset about that," said Scalise.

Once the process resumes, a group of clergymen that comprise the Dicastery for the Clergy in Rome will make a decision.

That decision can then be appealed by either side to the Apostolic Signatura, or Supreme Court of the Catholic Church, where a final ruling will be made. 

"We are prepared to take it as far up as it will go,” said Scalise. “If we reach the end and the decision we get is no, then there's nothing we can do from there. But we're fairly confident that it's not going to reach that.”

Last fall, the Diocese of Buffalo announced dozens of parishes would either close or merge this year based on a lack of new priests, a decline in parish enrollment and fallout from the clergy abuse crisis.

The diocese says the parish is one of roughly 30 appealing the process, with about 14 now before the Vatican.

"They have a right to this process, so we respect the process all the way through. The thing that I'm prayerful and hopeful of is when a decision is reached, we have to accept the decision," said Fr. Bryan Zielenieski, vicar for renewal and development, Diocese of Buffalo. 

Zielenieski, who is leading the Diocese Road to Renewal initiative, says the parish must still face the issues of today, prepare for tomorrow and continue toward building a family of parishes.

"We're just saying that it's going to be a challenge with the number of facilities that we have to maintain and the resources, particularly with the bankruptcy settlement now being announced, of what resources are going to be available to do that for the future going forward,” said Zielenieski.

While Scalise acknowledges there are some valid issues that need to be addressed, she is now working to reenergize the parish.

"There are ways that we as an entire church community, an entire diocese can shift things or change things to try and actually bring people in, not just close things down to match whatever numbers we've got currently," said Scalise. 

If the parish is forced to take its case to the Vatican's highest level, the group would then need to hire an advocate who specializes in canon, or church, law, and has been raising funds to help pay for that legal representation.