Archdiocese seeks court order to end protesters' 11-year vigil and close down deconsecrated church
Image from the Friends of St. Frances X. Cabrini Inc. website.
An 11-year, 24/7 vigil at a Roman Catholic church outside Boston may be coming to an end, if Massachusetts appeals courts see the case the same way as the Archdiocese of Boston.
The protesting parishioners say they are the true owners of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini church in Scituate, under the church’s canon law. They argue that the state doesn’t have the power to decide the religious dispute between the church and its members.
But so far the state’s court system has sided with the archdiocese in a trespass suit it brought last year in an effort to close the deconsecrated building down, according to Reuters. A hearing was scheduled Wednesday before a three-judge state appellate panel.
“The defendants continue to claim that this is actually an ecclesiastical matter and of course it is not,” said attorney William Dailey, who represents the archdiocese. “We have to have an order from our state court indicating that the defendants in this case are trespassing.”
In 2004, some 70 parishes were selected for closure when the archdiocese decided to restructure to cut costs, Reuters reports.
Attorney Mary Elizabeth Carmody represents the parishioners’ group, the Friends of St. Frances X. Cabrini Inc. They say the trial court erred by not allowing the group to pursue all possible appeals in church courts before allowing the archdiocese to proceed with its trespass case.
When a state-court judge “excluded the evidence of canon law under church ownership, he committed a violation of the First Amendment,” said Carmody, apparently referring to First Amendment protection of the establishment and free exercise of religion.
Last year, the group lost an appeal to the Vatican’s top court, the Apostolic Signatura, the New York Times (reg. req.) reported earlier. However, the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts is still pondering the situation, the group says.
The National Catholic Register reported last month that the trial court’s order requiring the group to vacate the church building was stayed pending an appeal.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Judge says church protesters are trespassers, rejects their counterclaim for money spent on repairs”
