Amid Fr. Fred’s sudden retirement, All Saints parish carries on his mission
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A typical 11:30 a.m. service at Syracuse’s All Saints Roman Catholic Church on Lancaster Avenue is anything but traditional. On Sunday, alongside an African choir, an 11-year-old’s birthday celebration and prayers in multiple languages, the tight-knit parish community had the “rug pulled out from under (them).”
During the service, Rev. Fred Daley, known as Father Fred to his congregation, announced that he’ll be retiring in January, prompting gasps of shock and tears. Parishioners said Daley’s retirement is “unprecedented,” suggesting he was being forced into retirement because of his outspoken attitude and unique ways of teaching Catholic faith.
“It’s a blow to Father, after 52 years of service, to the church, to God, to the community, to the gospel, to treat him this way,” parishioner Andrew Di Marco said, following Monday morning’s liturgy. “Totally disrespectful and totally uncalled for, and also the parishioners. They’re hurting the parishioners.”
Many of the parishioners embraced Daley in tears on Sunday or expressed sadness and outrage.
Originally, Daley was set to take over temporarily at St. Lucy’s Church after Rev. James Mathews’ retirement in January. On Nov. 4, Daley said he was informed by Bishop Douglas Lucia that the church was accepting his retirement.
According to the Canon law of the Catholic Church, all diocesan priests must submit a letter of retirement to the bishop at age 75, but the bishop decides when to accept the retirement.
Before Lucia’s acceptance, Daley said he had no intention to retire.
To take Daley’s place, Rev. John Manno will serve as pastor of both St. Lucy’s and All Saints beginning in January, Lucia wrote in a Nov. 5 letter to the diocese. Daley said in his Sunday service that Lucia felt it would be beneficial for a new pastor, one younger than 79, to take on the position. Manno is 51.
“Bishop Lucia chose to appoint Father Manno as pastor of both All Saints and St. Lucy’s Churches now so he can shepherd the Costello Project from its inception, rather than initiating a secondary transition in six months,” Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse Chancellor and Director of Communications Danielle Cummings wrote in a statement to The Daily Orange.
Manno requested to serve St. Lucy’s and All Saints “out of a strong desire to return to inner-city ministry,” Cummings wrote. Seventeen other parishes and 13 other priests will also experience transitions across the diocese, she said.
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Mathews, who will turn 90 in January, said Daley was a natural choice for St. Lucy’s because of their similar progressive and “radical” views.
“Fred and I have been friends for years, and we both share pretty much the same sense of theology,” Mathews said on Nov. 2, before Daley’s retirement was announced.
Mathews declined to comment on Daley’s retirement.
Many congregation members said they believed the bishop’s decision was connected to a voter registration workshop held at All Saints in September and led by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Daley and his Pastoral Assistant Meg Ksander said in the days following the event, the parish received over 100 angry emails and phone calls, some even threatening Daley’s life.
Daley said he presumed the Bishop was receiving similar complaints and phone calls, but could not confirm if that was why Lucia accepted his retirement. Cummings told syracuse.com that it wasn’t related, but didn’t respond to The D.O.’s request for comment on the matter.
“I have made it very clear to the bishop and to our community that (hosting the workshop) was not a wise decision,” Daley said. “Because of the separation of church and state and by all appearances, we were partisan. What we thought was going to be a workshop on registration, under 50 people, with no press, ended up being a political rally.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s team did not immediately respond to The D.O.’s request for comment.
“It’s political, personal,” Di Marco said. “People want him out. People in the diocese, in the chancery, they want him out.”
Fr. Fred announces he will retire in January while presiding over Mass at All Saints Church on Sunday. Avery Magee | Development Editor
Although many of the complaints about Daley and All Saints relate to the church and Daley’s “progressive” nature, his messages have stayed the same for decades.
The church’s biweekly bulletin lists information for parishioners to learn more about various social justice causes around them, along with resources the church offers, from an LGBTQIA+ Task Force and Refugee Welcoming Task Force. Daley also publicly came out as gay in 2004.
The Nov. 7 to 15 bulletin, along with a food pantry fundraiser, lists a call for support for Cesar Aguilar, a parishioner being held in a detention center in Batavia.
In January, when All Saints members were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and put in detention centers, All Saints parish rallied around them. Daley said the parish helped get them out of detention, obtain a green card and find work.
“People really need to look at the timing of it, why they are doing it,” said parishioner Michael Desalvo.
Cora Frost’s family has been attending All Saints since 2011. Her son, Leo, has quadriplegic cerebral palsy, and when she was searching for a place for him to be baptized, Frost wanted a gay couple she’s close friends with to be Leo’s godparents. But she would not have Leo baptized until she found a church that would accept her son and his “god-uncles” Doug and Dave.
Frost said when she spoke with Daley about baptizing Leo with a gay couple as godparents, he said, “What matters is love.” Now, Leo sometimes reads the Gospel for the congregation at All Saints through his computer communication system.
Others echoed Frost’s sentiment, explaining that they’d gone to other churches or had difficulty with the Catholic Church before finding All Saints.
“I was absolutely blown away by how accepting and inclusive and loving he was, and it really renewed my lapsed faith in the Catholic Church,” Frost said. “I felt like it was a place that, because it was welcoming to these close friends of ours, that I wanted to raise my family.”
Amid the chaos, Daley remains adamant that things happen for a reason, and is hopeful retirement will allow him to continue his life’s work.
“My hope is that the spirit, the heart of it all, that this will continue to be a parish where all are welcome, without exception,” Daley said on Monday. “And I have great confidence that the people here at All Saints will continue that heart of our mission.”
On Monday night, parishioners independently came together and filled the pews for a prayer vigil to support one another in what one speaker called a “time of anguish.”
Many sat with their heads bowed, while others stood in the back of the full church.
Members of All Saints Church spoke out against Bishop Douglas Lucia’s decision to accept Fr. Fred Daley’s retirement, calling the move “political” and saying it targeted Daley for his progressive views. Avery Magee | Development Editor
Next door, Lucia held a closed meeting with parish councils and staff from both St. Lucy’s and All Saints. David Pasinski attended the meeting and said it consisted of about 40 people and lasted nearly two hours. Pasinski is a member of St. Lucy’s board of trustees, the church’s transition team and the Costello Project team.
“It was a very candid dialogue with the Bishop about the anxiety, anger and hurt and plans that he has put forth, which had surprised all of us when we thought another plan was in place,” Pasinski said.
He confirmed that Lucia spoke with those present and was receptive to everyone. Pasinski also said Lucia showed a presentation including a “long-range picture” for the ministry in the city and an overall attempt to be more inclusive, and to explain his decision to retire Daley.
“One hundred percent of the persons present certainly thought that the process and decision at this point, and really reversal of the previous plan, was wrong,” Pasinski said.
Throughout the meeting, which Daley also attended, Pasinski said a proposition to address the parish’s distress “evolved” and was presented to the Bishop, which Lucia said he’s now considering. Pasinski said the Bishop did not give a timeline for the consideration.
The congregation also requested that Lucia attend a listening session with the All Saints community. Pasinski said Lucia acknowledged the parishioner’s request during the meeting, but did not state his decision.
At All Saints, while the meeting was going on, the vigil emphasized a theme of moving forward and continuing to serve the most forgotten. Daley briefly appeared at the back of the church, hugging and comforting each parishioner he encountered, many of whom were visibly upset over the decision.
After the Monday vigil, All Saints members offered a “Parishioner Letter-Writing Toolkit” to the congregation, inviting them to write letters to Lucia and Pope Leo XIV, which many parishioners said they had already done that morning.
Former Syracuse University graduate Olivia Rojo shared a letter she wrote to the diocese Tuesday. Rojo, who’s from Mexico, began attending the church for its bereavement support group.
“Thanks to this church, I could stay here in the U.S. and continue my graduate studies,” she said.
Rojo shared in her letter that Daley helped her deal with medical processes unfamiliar to her when she broke her ankle. Later, upon graduation at SU, Daley wrote her a letter of recommendation and helped her connect with members of the community and job openings.
“His presence is a sign that the Church is truly a home for everyone,” Rojo wrote in the letter.
Maureen Anderson and her husband have attended All Saints for 13 years, and said they were drawn to it because of its welcoming environment.
“If Pope Leo knew what was going on here, I think he would be very disheartened because he represents at the world level what Fr. Fred represents within our bigger community,” Anderson said.
Parishioners emphasized that Manno is very welcome in their community, but are still worried about the implications the decision holds for the church and the city of Syracuse at large.
“I think that this is a way of destroying (All Saints)… I mean, they couldn’t hurt us more.” Desalvo said. “I don’t think this is over.”
