Court orders end to 11-year vigil at closed parish in Boston archdiocese
October 15, 2015
Dissident Catholics in Scituate, Massachusetts, have lost their latest court battle in an 11-year struggle with the Archdiocese of Boston over a closed parish.
The "Friends of St. Francis X. Cabrini" are trespassing by continuing to occupy the church by that name, a Massachusetts appeals court ruling, confirming a decision by a lower court. The group, which has lost a series of decisions in canonical and secular courts, is now reviewing its options. Some members of the group had earlier said that they were prepared to defy a court order, risking arrest, rather than accept the decision by the Boston archdiocese to close the church.
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Further information:
- Parishioners lose appeal to maintain Scituate vigil (Boston Globe)
- Protesters will seek court reprieve; occupation of closed Boston parish will continue (CWN, 5/29)
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Posted by: ElizabethD -
Oct. 20, 2015 3:06 PM ET USA
Regardless of the merits of the Archdiocese's decision to close the church, "dissident" is indeed an accurate descriptor for the Catholics involved in this. They've been holding Sunday services on their own in this church that they attend instead of going to Mass, sometimes this involves consecrated Hosts that they say are donated by "sympathetic" priests. But the precept of the Church is to attend Mass every Sunday, not to receive Communion every Sunday. This is only one of the many problems.
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Posted by: -
Oct. 16, 2015 9:57 PM ET USA
The lead word of this report, "Dissident" is an interesting choice. The editor of CWN, being local to the Boston area, knows more than I about this situation, but from afar it seems to me that the word, "Faithful" could also be used for this group of parishioners who are trying their best to keep their parish open despite compelling evidence that the archdiocese chose to close it because of its monetary resale value. Every story has at least two sides.
