Catholics struggle to cope with crime in Gloversville

Parishioners of St. Mary of Mount Carmel Church in Gloversville aren't feeling as safe in their homes as they once did.

There were four homicides in Fulton County between February and May; the most recent previous murder had been in 1992. With a fifth death in July, parishioners are living more cautiously these days, according to Rev. Donald Czelusniak, pastor.

"The older folks are becoming fearful about closing their doors and being more watchful," he said. "The community is watching each other here."

Shock and disbelief

Reaction among Catholics in Gloversville to the current streak of murders and related crimes, most of which allegedly were committed by teenagers or young adults, has been disbelief, shock and frustration.

Parishioners of St. Mary of Mount Carmel and Sacred Heart Church say they are sad that youths in their town are getting such a bad reputation because of the heinous actions of a few, but they are optimistic that the crimes are simply an aberration in the otherwise quiet city.

As she nears the end of her first year as pastoral associate for faith formation at Sacred Heart parish, Sister Phyllis Mauger, CSJ, has been surprised that so many murders have happened in such a short span. What makes them more troubling is that most of the suspects are so young; that gives all teenagers and young adults a bad name.

"I think it's unfortunate that youth have been behind some of these because there is a tremendous amount of good youth up here," she said. "So much attention has been given to the fact that youth have been accused of these crimes. They're really the minority."

Alternatives

She's also surprised that most of these crimes have been committed at a time when youths should have been in school and participating in school-related activities.

"It's not so much that things aren't provided for them. They need to take advantage of them," she said.

Although she believes the overwhelming majority of Gloversville's youths are law-abiding, moral people, Sister Phyllis is stunned that murders and other crimes have become so commonplace as of late.

"You wonder what was happened here. Maybe it's just one year that this is going to happen," she said.

Seeking answers

Father Czelusniak also finds it hard to accept that teenagers and people in their 20s are capable of committing murder. "They're not bad kids. How did they get into this?" he asked.

He muses that the erosion of family values and the absence of adult supervision in the home leads certain youths into trouble. Father Czelusniak pointed out that several of the murders began as robberies or burglaries that escalated into homicides, and the suspects lacked "a mature realization that there are consequences to the things we do."

Since Gloversville is the type of city where everybody knows everybody, "we all know these kids or know somebody who knows these kids," Father Czelusniak said. That includes the suspects' friends and acquaintances, who may not have gotten into trouble themselves but certainly are taking their chances by associating with such individuals.

Talking it over

Parishioners have been discussing the recent criminal activity, and such talk probably will come up when religious education classes resume next month.

"We've been talking about problems and offering the right kind of guidance and making the appropriate response. We really need to take this seriously," he said.

Father Czelusniak, who has served as pastor for 11 years, lamented that drugs, alcohol and the breakdown of the family unit have become such significant problems among today's youth.

"When we were growing up, we never had to worry about these forces as these kids do, so we've got to do something to help them a little bit more," he said.

He is optimistic that the recent murders in Gloversville won't be an ongoing pattern. "I hope this is not a trend. I really don't believe it is," he said.

Special pressures

Ginger Trippodo, pastoral associate for faith formation at St. Mary of Mount Carmel, agreed that the suspects in these crimes -- and teenagers, in general -- are dealing with so many more societal issues than previous generations did.

"I just think it's a small group of youth. They've just had, sadly, bum raps in life. They just haven't had anyone there to love them," she said.

Although coming from a dysfunctional family might cause a young adult to break the law and get into trouble, she stressed that that's no justification for killing or stealing.

There hasn't been much talk about the murders in the parish, but if youths in the religious education program bring them up during classes in September, teachers will be prepared: Ms. Trippodo plans to meet with her staff to decided how to respond to students' worries.

"It's something that we can't ignore, obviously, and we have to pray for the community. As we say here, this a safe, loving place, and we hope to try and provide an environment for them where they know that they are loved and try to nurture that along," she said. "We're going to go on and continue to do the ministry that we're called to do."

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