When St. Katharine Drexel Parish in Lansford closed its doors Aug. 1, it seemed that it was the final chapter for a church that was built more than 100 years ago. But church members were determined to prevent their parish from joining the long list of Catholic parishes in the Coal Regions that have closed in recent years.

That would have been a difficult task on their own. Every time a church is closed, there are parishioners who are understandably upset.But St. Katharine’s found an ally in an independent canon lawyer, Sister Kate Kuenstler. When parishioners want to question why their churches are closing, independent canon lawyers such as Kuenstler can help.“We thank God for her every day,” parishioner Steve Behun said.Kuenstler, who lives in New England, will be coming to the area this Sunday, as the members of St. Katharine Drexel celebrate the 125th anniversary of their parish (which was known as St. Michael’s from 1891-2008.) She will speak at a prayer service at noon Sundayin front of the closed church on East Abbott Street.Kuenstler is currently helping the parishioners from St. Katharine Drexel in Lansford fight back against the decree to close their church by appealing to the Congregation of Clergy — basically the Catholic Church’s appeals court. She has also taken up the case of two other local churches, St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Nesquehoning and Our Lady of Lourdes in Weatherly.When the parishioners mark the 125th anniversary of their parish this weekend, Kuenstler will be on hand to talk about how she has gotten the Vatican interested in their case.“They are high-energy, faith-filled people who are really skilled at articulating what they’re thinking,” she said. “And they are capable of sniffing out that which is not kosher in the process.”The appealSt. Katharine’s closure was announced earlier this year as part of the Diocese of Allentown’s pastoral plan for the Panther Valley. The diocese also closed St. Francis of Assisi and Our Lady of the Angels Academy — the former parish school at St. Katharine’s.The parish started as St. Michael the Archangel in 1891. The current building was completed in 1908.When the appeal was announced, members of the two closed parishes came together to try to fight the closure. But they needed a canon lawyer.Most canon lawyers are priests. Each diocese has at least one, and usually five or six.Kuenstler is one of the rare independent canon lawyers. Over the past decade, Kuenstler has represented parishioners from churches in 45 different dioceses around the United States, and five other countries.After receiving a degree in canon law, she worked for years on Catholic marriage tribunals. But in 2006, she got a call from a woman in New York state who wanted help saving her church.Kuenstler helped the parish appeal the bishop’s decree. The case made it to the Congregation of Clergy, which decided in favor of the bishop.The church then appealed to the Apostolic Signatura — the highest authority in the church other than the Pope — and won. Six years after the case began, the church was reopened.For each of the 45 dioceses that she has worked in, Kuenstler estimates that there are a dozen different parishes that she has fought for.She’s gotten a lot of attention for working with a number of parishes in New York City — where a total of 180 parishes were consolidated in 2014.Kuenstler says parishioners often do not know that they have a right to question and appeal a bishop’s decisions.“The parishioners have a right to inform their bishop of their spiritual needs, and they have an obligation to do that,” Kuenstler said. “Bishops don’t like to hear that, because they don’t like having people question their decrees.”She says that the decrees issued by Bishop John O. Barres of the Allentown Diocese to close the church were flawed in several ways.The parishioners weren’t provided with a copy of the decrees until she advised them that they could have a copy.The buildingShe’s also critical of Barres for claiming in his decree that the St. Katharine’s building is dangerous.A few years ago, scaffolding went up around St. Katharine’s. In the decree to close the church, it says that the building is in dire need of physical repair, and is a danger to people who are entering it.She said when the parishioners questioned Lansford borough officials about it, they said there was no such danger.“I don’t like to call the bishop a liar, but that is a blatant untruth,” Kuenstler said. “He did that specifically so he could shut the church down.”She said that questioning a church’s structural integrity is not uncommon. But under canon law, if a building is in good shape, it should remain a church.Most of all, she says she’s disappointed that Barres closed the church without visiting himself. She said that if Barres was acting out of his conscience, he would have visited the parish before it closed.“If you’re going to change someone’s faith life, do it for the right reason,” she said. “This bishop has never talked to these people, he’s never visited them, or cried with them over the loss of their church.”A spokesman for the diocese addressed Kuenstler’s concerns in an email.Matt Kerr said that the diocese never refuses to give out a copy of an official decree. However they usually give out a pastoral letter instead of the actual decree, because the documents can often be very legal in their wording.Kerr said that the structural problems with the St. Katharine’s building are numerous, and cost far more than the parish could afford. He said they include water infiltration that is damaging the structure, failing terra cotta and wood louvers in the clock tower, and interior rainwater piping that needs to be replaced.Kerr pointed out that Barres visited St. Katharine’s in March to administer its confirmation service, and heard from many people about their love for the parish and desire to keep it open.“The diocese believes news about the closing or merger of a parish is best delivered by the pastor who has served the parish and is a comforting figure to the people of the parish,” Kerr said in an email.U.S. closingsThe United States is the only place where parish closings are taking place, Kuenstler says. Up until a few years ago, the Congregation of Clergy didn’t hear the cases. But under Pope Francis, a new “prefect” of the congregation was appointed, Bernard Cardinal Stella. Kuenstler said that under Stella, the Congregation has become more aware of American churches facing closure.“I’ve outlasted two popes and four prefects at the Congregation for Clergy. I’m on my third papal nuncio. Most have not been interested in what bishops are doing closing church buildings,” she said.There are even some churches that Kuenstler admits she cannot save. When she hears from a potential client, she’ll try to ascertain if the church is indeed ready to close.“Parishes where the youngest person is 68 years old, there have been no baptisms for the last 15 years, no children in CCD,” she said.Despite that fact, Kuenstler has dozens of cases ongoing at a given time. The cases can take years to complete. There are no hearings. All arguments are done through letters to the Congregation of Clergy.Once every three months, the Congregation of Clergy will contact the parties in the case. If they need more information, they will give another three-month extension. If they feel no more information is needed, they’ll issue a decision. She said the Vatican takes the thought that “the more important it is, the longer it will take to finish,” she said.St. Katharine’s got their first correspondence from the Congregation in mid-August. The next time they’ll hear from the church will be in November. But the resolution could be far off.“I always tell people, these cases will be finished any time between tomorrow to the second coming of Christ,” she said.Regardless of the outcome of the appeal, Kuenstler says that the decision to close the church will have a permanent effect on the faithful in the valley. She said that the “faith energy” in the parishioners has been sapped by the divide.“Even if we win, the parish will never be the same as before the bishop issued the decree,” she said.