Parishioners At Closed Churches Vow To Fight On

By The Associated Press
Jul 18, 2011, 9:12 AM
1 Comments

BOSTON — Parishioners at several Boston area churches are vowing to continue efforts to fight Cardinal Sean O’Malley’s decision to sell the buildings.

O’Malley’s decree last week to strip six churches of their holy status takes effect Monday.

The move means the churches are now considered secular buildings that can be put on the market and sold.

But parishioners at several churches where vigils have been held since the parishes were closed nearly seven years ago say they plan to fight on and appeal O’Malley’s decision to the Vatican. That process could take several years.

Church officials say there are no plans to forcibly remove parishioners in vigil.

The churches deconsecrated are in Wellesley, Lowell, Quincy, Revere, Scituate and East Boston.

Please follow our community rules when engaging in comment discussion on wbur.org.

Sml

Bravo, Jon! We are taught as Catholics that we are one body, and that the priests (and bishops and Cardinals and Pope) are to function as servants of the body of Christ – which we celebrate in Holy Week with the washing of the feet. But for the other 364 days of the year, it seems that the hierarchy has lost sight of that role, and instead makes slaves and income-sources of the people. Thank heaven there are some good priests who never lose sight of that role, and who remind us that this is the role of each of us to the others – we should all be serving each other rather than looking to become ‘princes’. The vigillers are a tremendous model of the kind of sharing and service that existed in the early church – this is not a community that should be pushed out of the church – it should be celebrated and held up as an example!