No charges are likely to be filed, following a weekend complaint filed by a frequent critic of church closings who claimed some minor physical contact during an argument with Bishop Edward U. Kmiec, authorities said today.William Parks, 71, of Fredonia, who is active with a group called Catholic Parishioners Against Church Suppression, got into an argument with the bishop at a Dunkirk hotel Saturday night, both sides seem to agree.
In his complaint, Parks claimed there was some "minor physical contact" with the bishop, according to police reports.
Parks reported the incident to police at about 3:25 a.m. Sunday, roughly 6 1/2 hours after the argument.
"After conferring with the district attorney, we have left it as an active, ongoing investigation," Dunkirk Police Chief David C. Ortolano said late this morning.
"We want to wait to see if the diocese wants to add anything to the file, or if Mr. Parks comes in to offer any additional information."
No charges have been filed, and none have been requested, police said.
Parks requested only that a report be filed and that the diocese be advised of the incident.
"I cannot rule out charges 100 percent, but at this point, there doesn't appear there will be any," Ortolano said.
Kevin A. Keenan, spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, said Parks went up to the bishop Saturday night and had his picture taken with him, before the bishop learned who he was. They then talked for about 10 minutes.
"Nothing happened other than a conversation between two men," Keenan said today. "I've talked to people who were there, and there was no physical contact whatsoever."
In June, Parks wrote a letter to The Buffalo News, explaining that Catholic Parishioners Against Church Suppression is a group supporting the predominantly Polish parishes of St. Hyacinth and St. Hedwig in Dunkirk.
"We are opposed to the closing of any of the six parishes in the Dunkirk-Fredonia area because all six are financially self-sufficient," Parks wrote in his letter, adding that the shortage of priests could be dealt with by importing priests from Poland.
"We strongly oppose the closing of churches and schools to pay for judgments resulting from clergy sex scandals, and we certainly will not sacrifice our quality of life while the bishop lives in a million-dollar mansion," he added.
Diocesan officials have insisted repeatedly that the closing of churches has had nothing to do with lawsuits or settlements related to the clergy abuse scandal.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce