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Archdiocese cemetery leasing draws questions from judge

Philadelphia Orphans' Court Judge John W. Herron was in no hurry Monday to rubber-stamp the Archdiocese of Philadelphia's plan to lease its cemeteries to a for-profit company for $89 million.

Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Cheltenham, one of 13 burial grounds to be leased to the Levittown-based StoneMor Partners L.P. for $89 million.
Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Cheltenham, one of 13 burial grounds to be leased to the Levittown-based StoneMor Partners L.P. for $89 million.Read moreRON TARVER / Staff Photographer
    by By Harold Brubaker, Inquirer Staff Writer
    Published 

Philadelphia Orphans' Court Judge John W. Herron was in no hurry Monday to rubber-stamp the Archdiocese of Philadelphia's plan to lease its cemeteries to a for-profit company for $89 million.

The proposal is the biggest step yet taken by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput to try to fill deep financial holes in the balance sheet of the five-county archdiocese.

Herron questioned whether he had the authority to rule, given that the cemeteries in the agreement with StoneMor Partners L.P., of Levittown, are spread over five counties.

"I am very concerned about that," Herron said during the City Hall hearing, which lasted more than two hours and included testimony from 10 members of the archdiocese who objected to the deal.

Herron gave attorneys for the archdiocese and StoneMor 10 days to file briefs citing Pennsylvania case law to support their arguments that he has jurisdiction over cemeteries outside Philadelphia.

County Orphans' Courts have jurisdiction over charitable assets and must review certain deals to ensure that assets are not improperly diverted from charitable purposes.

Delaware County has the most archdiocesan cemeteries, with four. Montgomery County has three, including Holy Sepulchre, which has a Philadelphia mailing address. Bucks and Chester Counties and Philadelphia each have two.

Kevin R. Boyle, an attorney with Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young L.L.P. representing the archdiocese, told Herron that the total value of the proposed deal brings it to the level of Orphans' Court and that individual filings in each county might not be needed.

Boyle also argued that Philadelphia Orphans' Court was the appropriate site for the filing, because the archdiocese is based in the city.

"The arguments are not going to persuade me today," Herron said.

The parishioners' main objections concerned the possibility that more non-Catholics will be buried in the cemeteries, that the "sacred trust" of burying the dead was being turned over to a for-profit business, and that parishioners were given too little time to respond to the proposed deal, announced in September.

CEMETERIES BY COUNTY

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia awaits a ruling on a plan to lease its 13 cemeteries.

Philadelphia 2

Bucks 2

Chester 2

Delaware 4

Montgomery 3EndText

215-854-4651 @InqBrubaker