By Nicole Falco
The proclamation was made before almost 600 Holy Name of Mary and Blessed Sacrament Church parishioners gathered at Plattdeusche Restaurant in Franklin Square. Parishioners came to celebrate the priests, past and present, who touched their lives in positive ways. More than 20 priests who were there and many more who were unable to attend or are deceased shared in the community's good times, including baptisms and marriages, and led the community through trying times, including deaths of loved ones, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and, most recently, the war in Iraq.
The celebration, conceived about nine months ago, is Valley Stream's way of lifting priests' spirits and reaffirming the community's faith amid the turmoil that has engulfed the church.
For some, the allegations of sexual abuse by priests that surfaced throughout the past year and a half and the alleged coverup of that abuse by church officials may have tarnished the image of the Roman Catholic Church, and on Long Island, the image of the Diocese of Rockville Centre. A group of Valley Streamers from the community's two parishes sought to remind the faithful that while some current and former priests might be found guilty of wrongdoing, the actions of an overwhelming majority of priests throughout the world honor the vocation.
"Criticism is warranted, but support is also warranted," said Joe Scalise, a Holy Name of Mary parishioner who played a decisive role in organizing Valley Stream's first Priest Appreciation Day. "We as a church of faithful people from both parishes ... decided to get on the positive side of things, a supportive side."
Scalise approached Father Thomas Harold, pastor of Holy Name, about organizing some kind of celebration to let Valley Stream's priests know the community did not consider them "guilty by association."
"We knew there were people out there who wanted to show how they really felt," Scalise said.
Scalise and other volunteers, including Carmine Desio of Holy Name and Frank Farrella and Dennis Lane of Blessed Sacrament, finally decided on a dinner. Lane said the dinner began with expectations of 300 or so guests and soon ballooned to almost 600, but all involved couldn't have been more pleased.
"We couldn't think of something special enough to do for them," said Sharon Daly, a lifelong member of Holy Name and a committee member. "We need them in our lives with everything going on in the world that is negative. We needed something positive."
Guests were entertained by Andrea and Celeste Romano, the duo behind Sister Act. The sisters took the audience through a musical journey spanning decades. Cahill presented Harold and Father Greg Cappuccino, pastor of Blessed Sacrament, with proclamations for their churches on behalf of the village. The priests, including Father Thomas Kelly, who served at Holy Name in the 1940s, Father Stephen Brigandi, who began his ministry at Holy Name and left last year, and Father Aloysius Pakianather, who also left last year, were presented awards. Liz O'Connor, editor of the Long Island Catholic, was the night's keynote speaker.
But the highlight of the evening -- the part Scalise and those in attendance looked forward to most -- didn't take place until minutes before the celebration's end. With the priests assembled center stage, almost 600 hands were raised to bless the priests, as they have done for others so many times before.
"[The celebration] is very affirming of priesthood and also affirming of parish life," Harold said. "Also, it is witness to the vitality of both parishes ... both parishes have a long history in this community."
Cappuccino, also touched by the celebration, shared a similar sentiment. "For the 99 percent of us who have been doing hard work every day, to have [the community] put together something of this magnitude is an affirmation," he said. "All of us need affirmation in our lives. We [priests] are the ones who usually [offer the affirmation].
"It makes us aware that what we hope we are in people's lives, we are."
