WOIO TV19 News in Cleveland aired a story in its 11:00 p.m. newscast on Tuesday, June 21, 2011 on the sale of five Diocesan properties to White Hat management. White Hat operates charter schools and was already leasing at three of the locations at the time the sales were consummated.

Reporter Paul Joncich used these terms to describe the transactions, “the Diocese only received pennies on the dollar,” Catholics were described as “frustrated” by the sales, and the five churches were sold “for a song.”   Nothing could be further from the truth.

The five properties involved were all closed Churches: Annunciation, Corpus Christi, Sacred Heart, St. Rose and St. Procop.  At the direction of Bishop Richard Lennon and on the basis of good stewardship all of the properties were professionally appraised to determine their fair market value and they were then marketed at the fair market rates. The Diocese accepted the White Hat offers following proper due diligence and extensive negotiations.

A basic tenet of good journalism is that all sides need to be heard and facts need to be verified.  The Diocese was never contacted about the story which begs the question, Why Weren’t We Contacted?  There is no legitimate excuse for failing to get all sides, had the reporter spent the time to reach us, the fallacious language in the broadcast might not have been aired.

Channel 19 and its management should be embarrassed by this poor effort.  Our message is: do something about it.

Major errors appeared in a story concerning the clerical status of Father Sam Ciccolini in the Thursday, March 24, 2011 edition of the Akron Beacon Journal newspaper.  The following is a portion of the memorandum as written by the Most Rev. Richard Lennon, Bishop of Cleveland, to the priests of the Diocese correcting the story:

Individuals assessing the value and quality of a car will likely look at gas mileage but will certainly not make that their only criterion. Comfort, size, safety, reliability, consumer reports, related insurance rates and more all become part of the assessment equation. Gas mileage is part of the picture but is not the whole story.

Ask any parent what they are looking for when they choose a school for their child. The most frequent answers: a good education; safety; teachers who will understand and help their child in school and sometimes after school, as well; a disciplined but friendly environment; and of course, affordability. Questions about test scores may come up, but great test scores without those other elements will not likely be the primary determining factor.