Catholic church no longer will host Yom Kippur services
Rabbi’s ties to Planned Parenthood cited in decision to rescind invitation.

Alan Freedman
Rabbi is on Planned Parenthood board.
By Joshunda Sanders
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/catholic-church-no-longer-will-host-yom-kippur-920733.html
Thursday, Sept. 16, 2010
St. Louis King of France Catholic Church rescinded its invitation for the Jewish congregation Temple Beth Shalom to hold Yom Kippur services at the Burnet Road church this weekend amid protests from Catholics and abortion opponents that Rabbi Alan Freedman is a board member of Planned Parenthood of the Texas Capital Region.
“The Diocese of Austin has directed that the services of Yom Kippur for the congregation of Temple Beth Shalom not take place as planned at St. Louis Catholic Church,” diocese spokesman Christian González said in a statement. “Bishop Joe Vásquez is aware of recent press and Internet reports that have questioned the appropriateness of the invitation having been extended to Temple Beth Shalom by Father Larry Covington, Pastor of St. Louis.
“In view of the fact that Rabbi Alan Freedman is a member of the board of Planned Parenthood, and questions about the suitability of the use of a Catholic sanctuary by a non-Christian community, Father Covington has determined, in consultation with Bishop Vásquez, to withdraw the invitation,” the statement said.
Beth Shalom, which has about 1,200 members, has held High Holy Day services at the more spacious Catholic church for the past two years because special services attract more members to its synagogue than usual. Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year on the Jewish calendar, begins at sunset today and ends Saturday afternoon. Freedman said about 900 people are expected to attend Beth Shalom’s services, which have been moved to a gym in the Jewish Community Center on the Dell Jewish Community Campus in North Austin.
Several online and cable television reports from Catholic and anti-abortion sources reported that the Austin parish was allowing an abortion-rights activist to lead services at the church. Earlier this week, the diocese pointed out that Vásquez, who was installed to lead the Diocese of Austin earlier this year, might not have been aware of Freedman’s affiliation with Planned Parenthood. Freedman said he has been a board member for at least five years.
Vásquez “was only recently made aware of who Rabbi Alan Freedman is and did not know of his affiliations until a few days ago,” Monsignor Mike Sis, vicar general of the Diocese of Austin, said in a written statement.
Freedman wrote a letter informing his congregation of the last-minute change: “Over the past 24 hours, the traditional Catholic press on the internet and on Catholic cable television has made a substantial issue of the fact that I am serving on the local Board of Planned Parenthood and as the chair of its Clergy Advisory Group. St. Louis Catholic Church and the Catholic Diocese of Austin have received protests from literally throughout the world about my leading services in a Catholic church.
“As the protests have mounted today, Father Larry and I discussed the continued viability of our presence at St. Louis from the standpoint of both congregations,” Freedman wrote. “It was agreed that it was in the best interests of both communities that we not hold services at St. Louis this Yom Kippur.”
Freedman said Thursday, “I think it’s an unfortunate development at this late hour.”
With less than 24 hours to change the location of the services, members of Beth Shalom were busy changing their plans Thursday. Jay Rubin, the chief executive officer of the Jewish Community Association of Austin, said employees of the Dell Jewish Community Campus went to the Catholic church to pick up hundreds of Jewish prayer books, name tags and even the podium Freedman was to speak from.
“It’s unfortunate that this had to happen, and that it happened this close to the holiday,” Rubin said. But when volunteers and campus workers drove to the church Thursday afternoon, he said church staff members were helping to load the cars with Jewish decorations to take them to the Hart Lane facility.
Longtime St. Louis parishioners such as John O’Sullivan, 80, said there were other issues with the Jewish services at the Catholic church. He said he had a problem with the way the church was redecorated for Jewish services.
“Our statues and the stations of the cross were covered for the events, and we were unhappy about that,” O’Sullivan said. Other parishioners had concerns about being relegated to a smaller chapel during High Holy Day services, he said.
The incident was reminiscent of the cancellation of an interfaith service in 2007 that had been scheduled at the Quarries, a recreational facility in North Austin owned by Hyde Park Baptist Church. Local Muslims rented a gym at the Quarries to host the Austin Area Interreligious Ministries annual Thanksgiving service, but months after reservations were made, Hyde Park leaders decided a few days before the Sunday service that the church could not allow Muslim prayer and the promotion of non-Christian religions on its property.
joshundasanders@statesman.com; 445-3630