The Diocese of Lake Charles has been under heat after the publication of several letters to the editor in the American Press, citing alleged discrimination against marginalized groups. This controversy began with the announcement of the demolition of the gym and rectory of Sacred Heart of Jesus in Lake Charles.

In a June 24 edition article announcing the demolition, the Very Rev. Ruben Buller, vicar general and moderator of the Curia for the Diocese of Lake Charles, said the church sustained significant hurricane damage, and that remediation had begun quickly to minimize further damage.

“The roofs of the church, convent, offices, library, and school building were replaced,” he said. “The diocese is working to enter a contract for repairs to the interior of the church, and it is expected that these repairs will begin soon.” He said the old gym and old rectory were beyond “reasonable repair,” and would be removed.

In response, Dr. Carl Wendell Ross Sr. submitted a letter to the editor claiming the Diocese was neglecting Sacred Heart in an effort to erase the predominantly Black parish’s history and culture.

“What we are witnessing is a systematic planned erasing of our historical Black parish off of the face of the earth one building at a time,” he wrote. “We are considered expendable.”

In his letter, Ross said repairs were completely rather smoothly at churches in predominantly white parishes.

“We do not see the Diocese of Lake Charles tearing anything down at Saint Margaret, Our Lady Queen of Heaven, ICCS or Saint Louis High School. They have found money to finance these institutions, but nothing to preserve Historic Sacred Heart.”

The historical nature of Sacred Heart of Lake Charles is a primary reason for his impassioned response, Ross said.

The Sacred Heart of Lake Charles school and parish were built during the “days of ‘staunch’ segregation,” he said.

“Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish was built brick by brick … by our parishioners.” He also noted the parish was funded primarily by its parishioners, as well as the estate of Saint Katharine Drexel, founder of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and Patron Saint of Racial Justice and Philanthropists.

He said the gym is a “sacred place for all African American Catholics, not only in the city of Lake Charles, but many surrounding areas.”

The parish was amalgamated with the Diocese of Lake Charles after its establishment in 1980. During this period, all church parishes in the civil parishes of Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron and Jeff Davis were brought together to form the Diocese of Lake Charles. These parishes were previously under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Lafayette.

Ross said for this reason, “the chancery has no past ties to the history of Sacred Heart, and to put it simply, does not care” about the desires of the parishioners.

Ross’ letter resulted in an influx of opinions. Two other letters were submitted from Gary Dimas of Creole and Merrill Guillory of Saint Henry Parish, as well as a letter from Bishop Glen John Provost.

Provost, along with Buller and the Rev. Jeffrey Starkovich, diocesan spokesperson and pastor of St. Pius X Catholic Church in Ragley, responded to all three of these letters in an interview.

Provost said he disagreed with Ross’ sentiments.

“There has been no disrespect shown to Sacred Heart Church,” the bishop said.

“It is an old and respected parish in the diocese. We have extended to it the same attention and courtesies that we’ve attended and extended to any of the other parishes that we have dealt with.”

Reuben attributed the shock of the announcement to possible poor communication between the parishioners of Sacred Heart, their previous pastor, the Rev. Father Richard “Uche” Adiukwu, and the Diocese.

He said it is not the role of the Diocese to communicate such matters to the parishioners; it is the pastor’s responsibility.

“Unfortunately, there was a lack of communication on the part of the parishioners to each other, and in particular on the pastor notifying the parishioners,” he said. “It could have been the former pastor who maybe chose not to communicate these things. It could also have been that there is a new pastor there, and it could have been the former pastor who maybe chose not to communicate these things.”

Buller said the Diocese was approached by parishioners of Sacred Heart to report a notice from the city of Lake Charles addressed to Sacred Heart.

Starkovich said the citation was given June 9, 2022.

“The Parish of Sacred Heart correctly informed the architect, who in turn informed the Diocese of Lake Charles on June 15, 2022. The City asked for attendance at a hearing on August 4, 2022 … the building is cited for not being safe and in building violation.”

According to the city, “On July 29, 2022, the Sacred Heart Catholic Church Gym, located in the 600 block of Louisiana Avenue, was posted as unsafe or ‘red-tagged’ out of concern to public health and safety due to the level of damage the structure sustained during Hurricane Laura.”

“The Diocese of Lake Charles was issued a Notice to Appear at the August 4, 2022, administrative hearing in order to provide an update on the structure’s future,” said Katie Harrington, the public information officer for the city. “At this time the city has not considered any action to demolish or condemn the structure, nor has the city communicated to the Diocese that they must demolish the structure.”

Ross said the gym at Sacred Heart served as a “historic Sacred Heart of Jesus High School, cafeteria area, and basically the only family life center we have to hold our annual bazaars.”

Provost said he realizes the importance of the gym.

“This is a given,” he said. “However, the gym is destroyed … we’ve been mandated by the city to remove them. For whatever reason that we did not choose, Laura sent winds that destroyed the gym, and it was not our choice. I don’t think it was their choice, either, but it is what happened.”

The rectory, which was also referenced in Ross’ letter, was dilapidated prior to the storm.

When asked how these needs will be accommodated in the wake of the gym and rectory’s demolition, Provost said that is up to church members.

“It is for the parishioners to indicate that this is what they want. Not in a letter to the editor in the newspaper, but officially through the pastor, through their council, through their trustees… lest  it be said ‘this is what the diocese is imposing on us.’ The diocese imposes nothing … they have to indicate to us this is what they want through official channels.”

In response to the claim of “systematic planned erasing” of the historic Black parish of Sacred Heart, Provost said the Diocese has spent $1 million at Sacred Heart of Jesus since Hurricane Laura, providing many services to the parishes free of charge.”

“We would love to see Sacred Heart of Jesus grow and thrive as other predominantly African American parishes thrive in the Diocese,” he said. “We want to see it stabilize. The leaders of the parish are asked to come together and formulate plans to rebuild and grow in the future.”

He emphasized the Diocese utilizes the same recovery process with every parish, and does not discriminate against Sacred Heart of Lake Charles.

In his letter, Ross also accused the parish of silencing parishioners when they attempted to express their concerns, claiming decisions are made in a “smoke-filled secret meeting of a select few.”

“Who would be telling them this?” Provost said, adding he receives “calls all the time.”

“Dr. Ross is a very distinguished gentleman in that community, but he’s not the pastor, and he’s not the trustee,” Provost said. “And that’s just a simple thing. We don’t operate on public opinion.”

In regards to the demolition of Sacred Heart’s gym and rectory, Reuben said he did have communication with Ross after the announcement was published.

“Dr. Ross called me and a number of other parishioners called me, and it was not adversarial,” he said.

When asked about the legacy of Saint Katharine Drexel, Provost said the Diocese wants to “honor her memory and we want to see that legacy that she left of this goodwill and cooperation continue.”