Transfer of pastor may cost Co-Cathedral $500,000 Parish donors angry over pastor's transfer

$500,000 for center at cathedral in jeopardy

The Rev. R. Troy Gately, pastor of Houston's Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, led fundraising for a Cathedral Center. He is being transferred to St. John Vianney Parish. The Rev. R. Troy Gately, pastor of Houston's Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, led fundraising for a Cathedral Center. He is being transferred to St. John Vianney Parish. Photo: SMILEY N. POOL, CHRONICLE Photo: SMILEY N. POOL, CHRONICLE Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Transfer of pastor may cost Co-Cathedral $500,000 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A decision to transfer a popular pastor from Houston's Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart to another local parish has led angry donors to consider withholding at least half a million dollars in pledges from the church's $4 million capital campaign.

The funds are intended for a Cathedral Center, due to open later this year with much-needed space for classrooms, meetings, offices and a reception hall to serve the growing downtown parish of about 2,400 families.

The pastor, the Rev. R. Troy Gately, spearheaded fundraising efforts for the new center, which will be in the old Federal Reserve bank building, catty-corner to the $49 million downtown Roman Catholic Cathedral that opened last month.

The Co-Cathedral is the official church of Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.

Parishioner Doyle Drury, who made a five-figure campaign pledge, said he was stunned to read a farewell letter from Gately in the Sunday bulletin this week.

"The Cardinal is transferring me to become the pastor of St. John Vianney parish in West Houston," Gately wrote. "I did not seek this move. In fact when asked to consider it, I said 'No.' But when it was no longer stated in the form of a question my response was 'Yes, I will obey and do what is asked of me out of love for Christ and his church.' "

The next day, Drury sent a letter to Cardinal DiNardo, announcing he was stopping his pledge and requesting a full reimbursement of all money he'd already paid out.

"I want to make my point," said Drury, a parts and service director for Texan Pontiac. "I don't think it'll change anything with the cardinal's position, actually, but at least I want him to know we're standing up for what we believe in."

The Chronicle could not reach Cardinal DiNardo Friday.

Gately led efforts to construct the center and deserves to see his vision through, Drury said.

"Church decisions from the cardinal I feel must be based on prayerful or ethical reasons and not political or personal one," he said. "Why not let him (Gately) enjoy the fruits of his labor? What does it hurt? I just don't understand."

He's not the only one who's angry.

Pursuing the reasons

Capital campaign chairman Patrick Pacheco said a dozen individuals representing about half a million dollars in campaign pledges have have asked him to arrange a meeting with the cardinal "to get clarification of why Father Troy was reassigned and why now." These donors have either indicated that they plan to withdraw their pledges or are considering it.

If the decision to reassign is final, the donors want to know if the transfer can be delayed until after the dedication of the Cathedral Centre, Pacheco said. They also asked him to secure a written commitment from the diocese that the Cathedral Center will be utilized for parish activities and not chancery office space, apart from a half floor that has already been committed to the chancery.

Now, with Gately apparently leaving before construction is completed, the donors are afraid the diocese is going to take over a large part of the more than 100,000-square-foot center for its own use, Pacheco said.

"It's a groundswell of anger," he said. "We see Sacred Heart as part of our family, and Father Troy is part of that family. We were shocked and saddened to hear the news. It's almost like losing a member of your family. And, in fact, the environment of Mass on Sunday was like a funeral. I'm looking around and seeing people crying."

'Standard procedure'

Pacheco said he called the cardinal's office seeking a dialogue on Monday, but he has yet to hear back.

The archdiocese does not comment on pastoral assignments, spokesman Erik Noriega said earlier this week. Noriega said Gately's transfer to replace a retiring priest at St. John Vianney is consistent with "standard procedure." Most priests get moved to a different parish every six years or so, he said.

Gately, who also could not be reached for comment Friday, has been rector at the Co-Cathedral since 1999.

Pacheco's wife, Sarah Patel Pacheco, said she has decided to withhold a "significant amount of money" she'd pledged for the cathedral center.

"I feel having just come off the cusp of opening (the co-cathedral) and the publicity it got for our city, our area and Catholicism, it was a real slap in the face," she said.

Staff writer Richard Vara contributed to this story.



lindsay.wise@chron.com