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St. John’s Update Meeting When:  Thursday, November 20, 2025 Time: 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm Where:  Pulaski Club Agenda:  Update on Appeals Watchlist and General Updates Cattaraugus Regional Community Foundation Account Status Question & Answer Spread the word!

I just received a letter dated October 2, 2025 from the Dicastery for the Clergy that was sent through the Apostolic Nuncio. The Dicastery accepted for review our appeal of the assessment, suspended the contribution for the duration of the recourse and notified the Bishop of their decision.  Please be aware that due to the diligence of Dan Butler and Carol Stitt, our Trustees, we have not made the payment. Thank you for your support, and please continue your prayers for a pos

A new EMCC Advisory Board has been established with representation from each Parish.  The members from St. John’s are: Carol Stitt, Dan...

The Bishop and his team have an upcoming meeting in Rome in October, date not known at this time.  The Bishop, Richard Suchan (Chief Financial Officer), and Father Bryan Zielenieski (Vicar for Renewal and Development) will be meeting with the Pope and his team.  Philip Gray (Canon Lawyer) thinks this is not a typical status review, which Bishops are required to have with the Pope every five years.  Philip Gray thinks this meeting is the result of the large numbers of appeals

Two big updates! First, notes from a Special Meeting of St John's Corporate Board. A special meeting of the corporate board of St. John's Olean was called by the Diocese for August 4, 2025.  The board of directors consists of Bishop Fisher, Vicar General Father Karalus, Father Chris Emminger, Carol Stitt, and Dan Butler.  The agenda was as follows: Discussion and vote on the parish resolution to make a contribution to the Chapter 11 bankruptcy settlement of the Diocese of Bu

We received our much-anticipated reply from the Dicastery regarding our Suspension Appeal.

Updates since the Newsletter on June 9th.

Please be advised that we will be sending a new appeal against our $211,800 assessment to the Bishop by Friday, June 20.  This appeal, or...

The following are the meeting minutes from June 4, 2025, in which was discussed adopting a 501c3 for donations, among other topics. St...

Cindy and I [Dan] attended a presentation and discussion by Philip Gray on May 8th at the Buffalo Irish Center.  Philip is a canon lawyer...

It has been a little while since our last newsletter as Cindy and I (Dan) were out of the area. Here is a summary of where things stand...

As per an article posted today (April 8th) by WKBW, many churches are receiving news that their appeals to suspend closings and mergers...

Highlights: Our Remonstratio to Bishop Fisher was confirmed received on 3/17/25 – within the requirements of the appeal process.  The...

Highlights: Our Remonstratio to the Bishop’s decree will be sent to the Bishop on March 14, 2025, well within the ten-day window from...

Our Next Meeting is Thursday, March 13th at 5 pm at the Pulaski Club (Olean). All are welcome to attend. We will be discussing next steps...

It was announced this weekend that we have received the Degree [attached] from the Bishop, which details a plan for an extinctive merger.

The following are some ideas for what you may wish to include in your letters to Bishop Fisher.

Highlights: Over 200 Procurator Mandates (petitions) have been signed.  A very high percentage of our Finance Council (100%), Parish...

In case you missed the live show , or if you would like to hear it again, listen to the recorded special interview with canon lawyer,...

Our website and Facebook page are active.  Almost 300 people have seen the website, and Facebook views are nearly 2,500. Keep sharing the...