Scituate parishioners to continue fight against sale of church

By Jessica Trufant
Wicked Local Scituate
August 4, 2014

http://scituate.wickedlocal.com/article/20140804/NEWS/140809117

Parishioners are still fighting a decade-old battle to keep open the officially-closed Catholic church.

Parishioners Pat McCarthy and Elmer Hartnett, who joined the church in 1961 when it opened, look over the church in May of 2012. Parishioners are still fighting a decade-old battle to keep open the officially-closed Catholic church.

Members of the St. Frances Xavier Cabrini church talk about a Vatican decision not to reconsecrate the church, from May of 2012.

Parishioners vowed Sunday to continue fighting a decade-old battle to keep open the officially-closed Catholic church in North Scituate – despite Cardinal Sean O'Malley's request that they accept a June ruling by the Vatican's highest court that the Boston Archdiocese may sell the building.

In a July 29 letter, Cardinal O’Malley urged parishioners to end their occupation and comply with the Apostolic Signatura’s ruling that the Boston archdiocese may sell the building. The Apostolic Signatura is the Vatican’s highest court.

“The archdiocese did not take any action to disrupt the vigil during the continuance of the canonical appeal process,” Cardinal O’Malley wrote. “We participated in good faith, trusting that you were doing so as well. A refusal to accept the judgment of the church in this matter would be contrary to the purpose for which you sought recourse.”

While the archdiocese has considered St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Church a deconsecrated building since October 2004, parishioners have kept its doors open through a round-the-clock vigil that has gone uninterrupted for 3,575 days.

St. Frances was among dozens of Boston-area churches pegged for closure in 2004 as part of a reconfiguration plan designed to shrink the archdiocese’s growing debt. Citing falling attendance, a priest shortage and financial problems, the archdiocese closed more than 60 churches. But some parishioners refused to leave their churches, saying the archdiocese was selling off lucrative parishes to pay for clergy sex-abuse settlements, something the church has denied.

On Sunday at the church, Peter Borre, an adviser to the Friends of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, said the church will issue a direct appeal to Pope Francis and ask the highest court to resolve what he called audit inconsistencies. An audit of the archdiocese’s finances showed a surplus of $41 million in fiscal 2013, which is contrary to archdiocese statements justifying the selling of St. Frances, Borre said.

Terrence Donilon, a spokesman for the archdiocese, called Borre’s assertion that the archdiocese has a surplus of $41 million “false and misleading.” He said the account used to support the officially closed parish was actually down $5 million from the previous year at the time of the audit, and any surplus is held by the 288 parishes.

“While our overall financial situation has stabilized, I can assure the faithful we are not operating with a surplus and there are many major challenges remaining,” he said. “Canon law does not allow us to take savings from these parishes and give it to the closed Scituate parish.”

Donilon added that the archdiocese continues to seek a “peaceful and prayerful” resolution to the vigil.

Gathered with her fellow parishioners after Sunday Mass at St. Frances, Louise Nowlan said she and her husband Rick found a spiritual home when they started going to the church 14 years ago.

“It sounds corny, but it’s true,” Nowlan said. “These people are so dedicated.”

“It’s really amazing what’s gone on here for the past 10 years,” Rick Nowlan added.