Archdiocese Considers Move to Suburbs, Irking Boston, WHDH, May 23, 2007

Archdiocese Considers Move to Suburbs, Irking Boston

WHDH
May 23, 2007

http://www3.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO52977/

Boston -- A decision by the Roman Catholic Boston Archdiocese to consider a money-saving move to the suburbs is drawing criticism from Boston Mayor Tom Menino, who claims leaving the city will hinder the church's charitable mission.

Archdiocesan officials are in the final stages of negotiating a deal to move their headquarters from the outlying Brighton neighborhood to a four-story building in Braintree.

Cardinal Sean O'Malley

The proposed move, first reported in the Boston Herald, is part of an ongoing effort to resolve a financial crisis caused in part by the clergy sexual abuse scandal.

"The people most in need of charitable services provided by the church and archdiocese are here in our urban neighborhoods," Menino said in a statement. "To move the Archdiocese of Boston out of Boston raises serious concerns about the future mission and role of the church in serving this community."

Moving the chancery out of Brighton, the archdiocese's headquarters since the 1920s, would not hamper the church's mission and influence in the city, church officials said. The archdiocese's spiritual home, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, will remain in the city's South End.

"Regardless of where our central administration offices are located, (Cardinal Sean O'Malley) will continue to reside at the cathedral, and he will continue to have offices there," spokesman Terry Donilon told The Boston Globe. "In addition, our social service presence will not decrease as we play a key role serving the needs of the poor, the sick, and the vulnerable."

If the chancery does move, the 4.75-acre chancery property, and possibly a portion of the 13.5-acre St. John's Seminary property, would be purchased by Boston College, whose main campus is nearby.

Three years ago, The Jesuit college bought the ornate bishop's mansion and 46 acres of former archdiocese property in Brighton where it plans to build dormitories, a baseball stadium and a residence for 70 to 90 Jesuits.

About 200 people are employed at the chancery, which administers the nation's fourth-largest Catholic diocese with about 2.1 million members. A move would make the administration more cost efficient, officials said.

The Braintree property is being offered by Boston real estate magnate Thomas Flatley, a major supporter of the Catholic Church and a member of the archdiocese's Finance Council.

Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

St. John's Seminary, which opened in the 1880s, would remain in Brighton if the chancery moves, Donilon said.

The clergy sex abuse scandal cost the Boston Archdiocese millions of dollars in settlements, including an $85 million settlement in 2003 with more than 550 abuse victims. Donations also dropped off in the years after the scandal was exposed. In response, the archdiocese closed or consolidated 64 parishes, and sold the mansion and other real estate holdings.