It has been a long and torturous nine months for Dorchester Catholics. The year began with a directive from the Archbishop that every Catholic parish must begin a process of assessing its own role in worship, and in the context of other neighboring churches, it was promised that some would be "suppressed"- closed forever.

It was an agonizing time for many, a time of great anxiety not just here but throughout the Roman Catholic community in Greater Boston. At times, the process brought out the worst in human nature; but most times, there was a large measure of fervent goodwill in evidence among the faithful.

Last month, when St. William's church on Dorchester Ave. became the only Dorchester parish to be physically closed as a result of this process, it was time of deep grief for the Savin Hill neighborhood, as St. William's has stood for generations at a stable, unifying force for good in that corner of our neighborhood. A final mass has been celebrated, church valuables have been stored away, and the church has been shuttered. And after a period of normal and healthy grieving, it soon will be time for the parishioners to turn the page and move on.

St. William's churchgoers have been invited to join with neighbors in the former St. Margaret's parish to form a new church community. It is called Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta parish. The first pastor of the new parish, Father Paul Soper, chose to speak to the broader community last week at a civic meeting sponsored by the Columbia-Savin Hill civic group, and his words were refreshing:

"The process that created this new parish hurt many people, and perhaps hurt some of you directly, and for that I apologize," the priest said. "On behalf of anyone from whom you will accept an apology, I apologize." For a Catholic community that has been battered by any number of hurts, from school closings to the awful siege of physical and emotional abuse by some members of the clergy, Father Soper's words are a wonderful first step towards healing the wounds.

A fundamental tenet of the Christian faith is the restorative power of forgiveness. Where there is life, there is hope, and the new life breathed into this section of our community gives promise for a brighter tomorrow.

- Ed Forry

Reunion on the Avenue

Down the other end of Dot Ave. this weekend brings a happy occasion to St. Gregory's parish. That parish will celebrate a mass of thanksgiving for alumni of the parish school, St. Gregory's grammar school. The liturgy begins at 10:30 a.m., and the school buildings will be open for alums to revisit the classrooms and recall where their education began.

Prior to 1960, St. Greg's served a broad area, teaching children from St. Brendan's on Gallivan Boulevard, and St. Mary's of the Hills in Milton, before Cardinal Cushing built school buildings in those nearby parishes.

It is billed as a "Come Home for a Visit" event for "the lucky ones who attended St. Gregory's," and for those of us who went to St. Greg's, it promises to be an event of great nostalgia.

- E. F.