BUFFALO, N.Y. — If the love of money is the root of all evil, as the Bible says, then Michael Taheri believes the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo has fallen victim.
This week, Taheri and four other Catholic parishioners sent a letter to Pope Francis asking for an inquiry into Bishop Michael Fisher of the Buffalo Diocese for causing “adverse, long-term, and irreparable harm to the Catholic laity.”
“This bishop’s message is always money, money, economics,” Taheri said. “He needs to feel the suffering like Jesus on the cross, get up there and really make his case as to why he made that decision.”
Those decisions, Taheri tells 2 On Your Side, have been focused on finances over faith, forcing churches and schools across the diocese to close.
The closures come in response to $15 million in legal fees stemming from 900 clergy sexual abuse cases that have yet to be settled.
“It's impacting the core of the faith, and if you're not cautious, you'll just have fewer and fewer Catholics,” Taheri said.
The parishioners are now asking for the bishop’s removal and that he is sent to a position “where his talents, skills and concerns about finances can be put to better use.”
“The Diocese of Buffalo needs a merciful, gentle flock leader of the flock, and it's just not Bishop Fisher,” Taheri said. “It's time to move on.”
The Diocese responded to the letter in a statement to 2 On Your Side, challenging many of the claims and saying that “the bishop has done his best to be a spiritual guide in the diocese” but not elaborating on the specific financial allegations in the letter.
The parishioners are hopeful the Vatican will send a team to interview the bishop in the coming months, and they’re optimistic that their request will be answered.
Below is the two-page letter the group sent Pope Francis.
Dear Pope Francis:
Please consider this letter and the attached documents as our formal complaint against
Bishop Michael Fisher of the Diocese of Buffalo, New York. We are requesting a formal inquiry by the Vatican into his actions and decisions since his appointment as they have resulted in adverse, long term and irreparable harm to the Catholic laity who reside in this community.
In December of 2021, Bishop Fisher was appointed to the Diocese of Buffalo, New York, a Western New York community which includes approximately 600,000 Catholics.
Upon his arrival, the entire Catholic community was very weicoring of Bishop Fisher, and we were excited to have him assume the role of Bishop after the previous acting Bishop placed our Diocese into Federal Banicruptcy in February of 2020 as a result of over 900 clergy sexual abuse cases. Since the bankruptey was filed four years ago, the legal fees are close to $15 million and not one claim by a victim of clergy sexual abuse has been settled. Instead, this secular proceeding along with his other business decisions have become the misplaced centerpiece of Bishop Fisher's "work." There is virtually no spiritual nourishment for this flock coming from Bishop Fisher or the chancery.
Now, in addition to the bankruptcy. Bishop Fisher has turned his eyes to closing Catholic churches and schools - in many cases these beautiful institutions have operated over 50 years in our community. When a closing is announced, he lacks the courage to go see these Catholic organizations himself and instead delegates this tragic news to a 'B' team of clergy lackeys. He intimidates churches and parish communties with these heavy-handed money changers who deliver the bad news to the parishes or the schools about their closing. The central thrust of all his decisions is money and not ministry. He has no direct presence in the Catholic community to support parishioners faced with the closure of Catholic institutions they have supported their entire lives. Its a horrible time to be catholic in this Diocese.
Perhaps the greatest harm thus far is the reduction in the number of Masses both on Sunday and during the week. Bishop Fisher's efforts to restructure the parishes in the Diocese has virtually strangled parish life and brought total chaos to all of the faith communities in our Diocese. During this most recent Easter season, under Bishop Fisher's "leadership," our community had fewer Masses offered during holy week and the Induum. Easter Sunday was horrible as many of the traditional Masses were eliminated and those held were greatly reduced in numbers, adversely impacting the faith community. Bishop Fisher's tinkering with/destroying/altering the source and summit of Catholic life - the Mass - is misguided, outrageous and disrespectful to this community.
We have attached various newspaper articles, stories and letters try Catholics to news outlets voicing their disapproval and documenting the harm done by Bishop Fisher to the Catholic community since his arrival. These stories are from faithful Catholics who want to help the church in its growth and ministries.
Since the arrival of Bishop Fisher, our Diocese is struggling due to the absence of any spiritual leadership. We have no mission in this Diocese except the "financial mission" being directed by Bishop Fisher, Our community has a long deep rich history of practicing both the corporal and spiritual acts of mercy, but the corpus for the works has been gutted by Bishop Fisher's singular focus on the economics of this Diocese.
Without a doubt, we are a weaker, smaller, and more disenfranchised flock than ever before in our 150-year history. Under Bishop Fisher there is virtually no ministry or outreach to the poor. All of Bishop Fishers' work is focused on money, money and money. His letters (or videos) to the Catholic community are constantly about the need for money and settling the bankruptcy case. Although there is a time and place for that type of financial stewardship, i dominates all of his decisions. This is not how we are called to imitate Jesus.
At a Mass during Lent, a priest shared that out of the approximately 150 churches in Buffalo, 112 had not a single candidate for the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults program. That is a disgraceful statistic and fails on the shoulders of Bishop Fisher. The priests are also victims of his poor decisions.
Bishop Fisher also has not initiated any programs to support the needs of immigrants, the poor or those on the margins. You have preached and talked about the need for the church to be a field hospital for the poor. Bishop Fisher has no vision for that type of Church in our Diocese.
He is all about money. The money raised from parishioners in this Diocese goes to feed the appetite of the hungry lawyers, not the poor and the hungry.
We are not saying Bishop Fisher does not have good qualities or accounting skills, but we feel the Diocese of Buffalo is not the best location for the use of his talents. Instead, we would propose that Bishop Fisher be removed and sent to a position where his talents, skills and concerns about finances can be put to better use. Our Diocese needs a Bishop who is merciful and walks with his flock in good times and bad. instead, our present Bishop remains glued to the inside of the Chancery, He has no presence in this community and has a misguided focus.
We trust in God and that you will take our submission seriously and authorize an official inquiry into Bishop Fisher and the harm he has caused in the Diocese of Buffalo, We believe removal is appropriate given the harm he has caused to the laity. We pray that such an inquiry will move forward under your watchful supervision.
We look forward to your thoughtful response and hope to be of assistance to you and our Catholic church as we move forward. Please know you are remembered in our daily prayer intentions.
Your brothers and sister in Christ.
Anthony Bonaventura, Marie Camubba, Paul Eberz, Mike Liwicki, and Mike Taheri
Here is the response to the letter from the Buffalo Diocese.
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