BOSTON (MA)
TheBostonChannel.com
POSTED: 11:43 am EDT August 11, 2005
UPDATED: 6:22 pm EDT August 11, 2005
BOSTON -- Opponents of the church closing plan in the Archdiocese of Boston have found an unlikely ally -- the Vatican.
NewsCenter 5's Amalia Barreda reported Thursday that a ruling from Rome said Archbishop Sean O'Malley does not have the authority to seize financial assets from churches he's shut down.
Mt. Carmel Church in East Boston has been in vigil since last October. An appeal to the Vatican is pending, following an order from the Archdiocese of Boston to shut down and send its members to Sacred Heart Parish about a mile away.
Members say the Vatican's declaration that millions of dollars in assets from certain parishes that have been ordered closed cannot be taken by the archdiocese is a decision that should apply to Mt. Carmel.
Posted by kshaw at August 11, 2005 08:29 PM