Schools
Opponents of Catholic School Closing Gather Outside Archdiocese of Detroit Office to Protest, Pray
About 75 people who are against the closing of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Elementary School traveled to downtown Detroit on Thursday to make their voices heard and presence known.
About 75 people opposed to the closing of Elementary School took their message directly to the Archdiocese of Detroit on Thursday.
For about three hours, the group prayed, marched with signs and loudly chanted protest slogans in the median of Washington Boulevard, only steps from the archdiocese's main office.
Laura Taraszkiewicz, the school’s parent teacher group president, said Thursday’s event was a chance to get the attention of the archdiocese and Archbishop Allen Vigneron.
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She also said they were there to display the dedication that exists in keeping the school open.
“We are hoping that through this prayer service, (the archdiocese) will understand that we are fully committed to preserving the education that we have at Mount Carmel," Taraszkiewicz said.
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It was that the school, along with , would cease operation at the end of the school year. The two schools will merge with Christ the Good Shepherd in Lincoln Park. All three will operate on the Christ the Good Shepherd campus under the name of Pope John Paul II Elementary.
At the time of the announcement, archdiocese spokesman Joe Kohn said a severe decline in enrollment at all three schools was the reason for the merger. The archdiocese did not respond to requests for comment regarding Thursday’s protest.
Immediately following the Feb. 1 closing announcement, . Some Our Lady of Mount Carmel parents and parishioners said they were never officially notified that their school would be closing.
One of the organizers of Thursday’s event was parish council president Mary Cerulla.
She said Our Lady of Mount Carmel representatives were not involved in the decision making process. Cerulla said the consolidation committee made the move in October without speaking with people from her school or parish community.
“They announced it was a done deal with no input from us,” Cerulla said. “That’s why our parents were very frustrated and angered.”
Thursday’s crowd was a mixture of both adults and children. Although class was in session, several parents chose to allow their kids to participate in the protest.
Several people proudly displayed symbols of the church’s Polish heritage on Thursday. Some made signs with Polish slogans; others carried the nation’s flag.
A few protestors said the school closing shows that the archdiocese does not respect that heritage.
Parent Alison Costello took it even one step further. She carried a sign that read: “AOD supports ethnic cleansing.”
“We have our traditions,” Costello said. “We’re the last Polish school in the archdiocese and they don’t care.”
Other protestors said they want to save the school due to the welcoming atmosphere that exists.
“If feels like a family there,” parent Sandra Matta said. “Everybody is together.”
Debbie Bloomfield is the chairperson of Our Lady of Mount Carmel’s education commission. She led the group in prayer throughout the morning.
Bloomfield said she hopes the message got through to the archdiocese and Archbishop Vigneron.
“I think it was important we were here to pray,” she said. “We pray that his heart will be softened.”
The archdiocese never directly addressed the protestors. They were, however, allowed to leave a package containing letters of support, pictures and a yearbook with an archdiocese secretary.
