The 75-year-old St. Mary's Catholic School is subsidized by thechurch, which has seen weekly donations fall more than 50 percentin four months, said Myron Tranel, chairman of the church's financecouncil.
The school, with 106 K-8 students, has enough money to operateuntil at least January but needs an additional $200,000 to keep thefacility open through the end of the school year, he said.
The financial crisis coincides with Madison Bishop RobertMorlino's decision in June to bring in three priests from theSociety of Jesus Christ the Priest to lead the parish.
The group isbased in Spain and known for traditionalist liturgy and devotion toorthodox Catholic teaching.
Changes the priests have made, including barring girls frombeing altar servers, led to a petition last month signed by 469 ofthe church's approximately 1,200 members asking Morlino toimmediately remove the priests.
In a response letter to the parishlast week, Morlino said the priests have his full support and willstay.
He chastised parishioners for conduct he called "gravelysinful."
"It grieves me to acknowledge that the reputation of threehappy, holy and hardworking priests has been seriously tarnished byrumor, gossip and calumny - lying with the intent to damageanother's good name - by some within the parish community," Morlinowrote in the letter, a copy of which the diocese provided the StateJournal.
Financial appeal
Monday, about 300 parishioners attended a meeting to discuss theschool's finances and hear a financial appeal. Parent Andy Sheasaid he was encouraged by the turnout.
"It would be very disruptive for children to have to changeschools in the middle of the year," he said.
Brent King, spokesman for the Madison Catholic Diocese, said thediocese has "no intention of allowing the school to fail."
He saiddiocesan officials, if asked by the church, would offer assistancein areas such as fundraising.
But he stopped short of saying thediocese would provide money to help run the school, calling that anunusual and possibly unprecedented step.
Joseph Hood, school principal, said it will likely be severalweeks before the school knows whether the fundraising appeal issuccessful.
Right now, the focus is entirely on keeping the doorsopen until June.
Discussions about the school's long-term futurewill come later, he said.
Mixed reaction
There are now eight society priests serving seven churches.
Their arrival at each church has ushered in similar changes.
They reserve the altar server role to boys to encourage moreseminarians.
They eliminate participation by laypeople in thedistribution of communion.
And they preach homilies that supportersfind refreshingly forthright in stressing Catholic teaching butcritics find short on compassion.
While opposition to the priests has surfaced in other parishes,it has become particularly loud in Platteville, a city of 10,500people 75 miles southwest of Madison.
Fay Stone, a 25-year St.Mary's member, said the priests' decision-making approach seemsheavy handed to her.
While the Catholic church is not a democracy,some degree of collaboration with parishioners would be nice, shesaid.
"I know they probably have church law on their side, but justbecause you have the right to do something doesn't make it theright thing to do," she said.
People are leaving and taking their money with them, shesaid.
King, the diocesan spokesman, referred all parish-relatedquestions to the Rev. Lope Pascual, one of the three societypriests at St. Mary's. He did not return phone calls.
Donations down
Weekly collections had been running between $10,500 and $11,500prior to the priests' arrival and now average barely $5,000, Tranelsaid, adding that the finance council created a segregated fund sothat donors can give directly to the school now.
The priests do retain considerable support in the church.
"They're teaching morals, and that's what we need," said BarbaraSplinter, a 45-year member. "They are following what I've read thepope is for, and he's our leader, so I don't
know why people have aproblem with it."
The priests are "being treated very terribly," she added.
Mike Worachek said he's disappointed that his fellowparishioners aren't giving the priests a chance.
"I think peopleshould grow up and face the reality that people are different andyou have to accept them for what they are," he said.
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