To the editor:

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops held a meeting from Nov. 10-13 and on the agenda was the fate of the Diocese of Steubenville. Since the closing of Holy Name Cathedral in 2008, and the destruction of the diocese in the years that followed, nothing was done by the hierarchy to investigate what Bishops Daniel Conlon and Jeffrey Monforton were doing.

For those that do not know, a bishop, once appointed to their position by the pope, is the sole person in charge of the workings of the Diocese: This includes all churches, schools, cemeteries and properties. All are placed in his name, and he is responsible for the oversight.

When Bishop John King Mussio came to Steubenville as the first bishop, he built St. John Hospital, the Diocesan Community Arena, Catholic Central High School, one seminary (and another in Bloomingdale, years later) and acquired a large portion of properties in the West End. He also did a complete remodeling of Holy Name Cathedral — this was just in Steubenville. These accomplishments were the vision of Bishop Mussio. The faithful Catholics who resided in the 13 counties parish communities that make up the diocese provided for the finances for the projects and brought them into existence.

The bishops who followed began to sell and give away properties. First, I want to explain that St. Anthony of Padua (Italian) and St. Stanislaus (Polish) are ethnic churches — this means that when these churches, schools, rectories and convents were built, they were built by the funding of the parishioners. This is an example: The sale of St. Anthony School — in the mid-1950s the parish children of St. Anthony outgrew the use of the present school at 716 South St., and a new school was proposed at 243 S. Seventh St. The cost of the project was $300,000. The Italian families paid for the school with no outside help by the community because the Rev. Paul Richter insisted that it was for the Italian children and they would pay for it. In June 1988, Bishop Albert Ottenweller sold St. Anthony School to the state of Ohio for $2,900.

All the problems of the diocese are because bishops have been unchecked by the hierarchy, and once they are exposed, as in the case of Conlon and Monforton, they were moved from the diocese, never having to repair or pay for the damage that had been done.

I find it ironic that the bishop’s conference will be deciding the fate of the Diocese of Steubenville when they themselves are the problem.

Merica Petrella

Steubenville