Breakaway group ends talks with Cleveland bishop

CLEVELAND (AP) — A breakaway congregation has ended its discussions with the Cleveland bishop about its withdrawal from the city’s Catholic diocese.

A spokesman for the Community of St. Peter, Frank Titas, said that the congregation’s trustees advised Bishop Richard Lennon of the decision in a letter this week.

Titas told The Plain Dealer newspaper the letter respectfully advised Lennon the community was not interested in continuing talks. The congregation worships separately from the bishop and the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland.

A spokesman for the diocese, Robert Tayek, said Wednesday he was unaware of the group’s letter. Lennon is out of town, he said.

The Community of St. Peter was created when St. Peter Church in Cleveland closed in April 2010, after the eight-county Cleveland diocese closed or merged more than 50 parishes citing declining numbers of priests, parishioners and finances. The church has since reopened.