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A Few Clouds Bishop denies meeting to Sacred Heart parents
Diocese officials reportedly insist that school closing is final decision
Bishop William Murphy, leader of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, said he will not meet with parents of students at Sacred Heart School in North Merrick. The parents hoped to discuss options for saving the school, which is slated to be closed next June.
Shane Pallotta, a Sacred Heart board member who has two daughters in the school, said he was told that Murphy “did not want to meet with individual parents because he did not want to give anybody false hope.”
Sacred Heart takes in students from the Merricks and the Bellmores. On Dec. 6, in a letter posted on the diocese website, Murphy identified Sacred Heart as one of six Long Island Catholic schools that would close in June.
The decision has caused a stir among Sacred Heart parents seeking to keep it open. “First of all, you tell 1,200 families that you’re closing their school three weeks before Christmas, and then you don't have the decency to give them 45 minutes,” said Pallotta, who is leading the effort to keep the school open.
Pallotta added that he recently met with his Save Sacred Heart committee, which comprises accountants, attorneys and past and present school board presidents, all of whom have children enrolled at the school, to discuss the next course of action.
The committee decided to begin an “Empty School, Empty Envelope” campaign, and is encouraging parents to refuse to donate to the parish during church. Pallotta said that collections were down $1,600 last weekend as a result. “Somehow, we're going to have to get [Murphy] to take notice of us,” Pallotta said, “so this is what we're going to do.”
Additionally, Pallotta said that John Rossi, the Sacred Heart Parish’s Finance Committee president, recently resigned from his post in protest. Rossi, a member of Save Sacred Heart, could not be reached for comment at press time.
On Dec. 14, hundreds of Sacred Heart students, parents and parishioners met outside the school for a candlelight vigil, silently protesting the diocese’s decision. The Save Sacred Heart Facebook group, started by Pallotta, now has more than 400 members. On the group’s page, students have posted letters they have sent to the parish or the diocese about the school’s closing.
