St. Frances parishioners vow to continue fight to save Scituate church

By Jessica Trufant
Wicked Local Scituate
March 8, 2015

http://scituate.wickedlocal.com/article/20150308/NEWS/150306889

Parishioners Peg O'Brien and her mother, Margy, both of Scituate, listen to their lawyer talk about their next move Sunday, March 8, 2015.

    SCITUATE -- Vowing to stand its ground, the Friends of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini group has hired a lawyer to defend it in case the Boston archdiocese follows through on a threat to sue if the group doesn’t end its decade-long occupation of the closed church by the end of today.

    Following their service Sunday, members announced that they hired lawyer Mary Elizabeth Carmody after receiving a notice in February from the archdiocese to vacate the Hood Road building by today or face legal recourse.

    “We’ve said since the first day that we will seek out and use every appeal available to us to save our church, and we aren’t going anywhere,” said Jon Rogers, a founder of the Friends group. “We have made a promise and vow to keep that promise.”

    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, including parishioners of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Church, who in October celebrated 10 years of holding a continuous vigil.

    While the archdiocese has considered the church a deconsecrated building since October 2004, parishioners have kept its doors open for nearly 4,000 days.

    Terrence Donilon, a spokesman for the archdiocese, on Sunday called the Friends’ actions “unfortunate.”

    “We all went into the appeals process understanding the process, rules and the potential outcomes, and the archdiocese was prepared to accept the ruling either way,” he said. “If they refuse to leave by sometime (Monday) we will make a determination about the next step of civil recourse and what that means.

    “They’re good people and they’re people of faith who could add a lot to any one of our 289 parishes,” he added. “It’s going to end at some point, but the how, when and what is yet to be determined.”

    A former federal prosecutor, Carmody led a similar fight at her own church, St. Jeremiah Catholic Church in Framingham. The archdiocese ultimately sold the building to an Eastern Rite Catholic community from southern India, which allows St. Jeremiah members to worship there.

    While the archdiocese’s letter to vacate states that St. Frances parishioners have “no further recourse,” Carmody said they have a special appeal at the level of Pontifical council, a legislative arm of the Vatican. She said the council accepted the appeal for review.

    “Cardinal (Sean) O’Malley should keep his word and refrain from taking any action against the Friends until all canon law appeals are concluded,” she said.

    But Donilon said it’s the archdiocese’s opinion that the appeals are completed.

    Carmody said the Friends notified the archdiocese by email Friday of its intention to fully defend any civil legal action taken against the group.

    The group also continued its plea that the archdiocese engage in a “meaningful discussion” so they can come to a positive resolution. Ultimately, the members hope the archdiocese will reopen St. Frances.

    “Litigation is not the answer but should it come, parishioners stand ready to defend themselves,” Carmody said.

    Parishioner Margy O’Brien spends several hours at St. Frances every day during the week. She questioned what the “foot soldiers” should be prepared to do if the archdiocese comes knocking this week.

    Because the group is now represented by a lawyer, Carmody said it must defer all questions to her. She said civil complaints can take a long time to be resolved.

    Moreover, Carmody said St. Frances parishioners aren’t trespassers because they built the church and have paid to maintain it.

    Since the archdiocese launched its reconfiguration plan in 2004, Carmody said, the number of Catholics who attend Sunday Mass at its churches has declined from 28 percent to 14 percent, or half the national average.

    “The cardinal has the ability, the obligation, to change his mind when policies fail,” she said. “He could change his mind today, tomorrow or next week.”

    Donilon said Catholic churches across the country have seen declining attendance for decades because of a demographic shift, and it has little to do with the reconfiguration.

    “There are a lot of Catholics who weren’t pleased that parishes had to close, but what I can say is that the vast majority have put their energy, dedication and commitment into open parishes that are serving people in the archdiocese,” he said.