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	Vatican Overrules Closing of 3 Churches By Denise Lavoie and Jay Lindsay Worcester Telegram & Gazette February 16, 2011 http://www.telegram.com/article/20110216/NEWS/102160395/1052/RSS01&source=rss CHICOPEE — The Vatican has ruled that three western Massachusetts churches closed by the Springfield Diocese should remain open, including one that's been occupied in protest for two years, parishioners learned Tuesday. The Vatican's Congregation for the Clergy ruled that Bishop Timothy McDonnell didn't justify closing St. Stanislaus Kostka church in Adams or two Chicopee churches, St. Patrick and St. George. That means the churches will remain open for worship, though it's not clear to what extent they can be used. Laurie Hass, a leader of the vigil at St. Stanislaus Kostka, called the decision "monumental." "Everyone here in Adams is rejoicing and full of joy!" said Hass, whose church has been occupied by parishioners around the clock since December 2008. With similar rulings on churches in the Allentown Diocese in Pennsylvania, the Massachusetts decisions could signal a new Vatican policy that makes it tougher for local bishops to close and sell church buildings, said Peter Borre of the Council of Parishes, a group formed to fight church closings. Keeping churches open, even on a limited basis, is important because it continues the church's vital evangelical mission where it otherwise might be lost, Borre said. "The principal item in the job description of the bishop is the salvation of souls," Borre said. "And you do not achieve that by destroying the presence of the Catholic church in a diocese." The Springfield Diocese can appeal to the Vatican's high court, and it will have much to say about how the three churches should be used — conceivably for occasions as frequent as regular Mass to a more sporadically opened place to pray. "This is not mission accomplished," Borre said. A diocesan spokesman said he wouldn't comment until the Vatican rulings have been closely reviewed.
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