To the Editor:

On the weekend of February 28-29 a common statement on the reconfiguration meetings for the South Dorchester cluster was published in the bulletins of the parishes of St. Ann, St. Brendan, St. Gregory, and St. Mark. The statement announced the responses to the two questions that all the clusters throughout the Archdiocese had to answer. There are more than 90 clusters of three or more parishes within the Archdiocese.

These recommendations to the two questions are advisory and not final decisions. These advisory recommendations will be reviewed by the local vicars and by the five regional bishops. A set of final recommendations will be made by a central Archdiocesan committee to Archbishop Sean O'Malley. The Archbishop is scheduled to announce his final decisions in May.

It was not an easy process to conduct or to participate in. It was especially difficult for the priests and Leadership Teams from St. Brendan and St. Mark. It is our hope that special consideration will be given to parishes with viable schools.

It was intended that this common bulletin announcement would reduce the confused spinning of rumors of all sorts. In the Sunday, February 29 edition of The Boston Herald ("Churches imperiled: Closure recommendations cause distress") the inadvisable comments expressed by the Rev. Walter Keymont, pastor of St. Ann Parish, were his own personal opinion. If the suppression of St. Brendan and/or St. Mark parishes was, in fact, to happen the topic of which suppressed parish would be joined to which receiving parish was never discussed publicly at the cluster meetings. Nor was such a suggestion voiced, voted upon, or approved. In fairness to the participants of our cluster meetings it is only right and just that, as Convener, I defend the integrity of our process, as well as the commonly approved content of our final report.

The announcement was also intended to provide responsible transparency to the series of cluster meetings held during the month of February.

-Rev. John O'Donnell

(Father John O'Donnell of St. Gregory's parish serves as Convener of the Dorchester South Cluster)