Archdiocese of Boston Takes Friends of St. Frances to Court to End Vigil
By Ruth Thompson
The fate of St. Frances X. Cabrini Church is now up to a judge. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston served the Board of Directors of the Friends of St. Frances X. Cabrini, Inc., with a summons to appear at the Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham on Friday, March 20 for a hearing on the archdiocese’s request for a preliminary injunction. The archdiocese had until Tuesday, March 24 to file the proper deed to the 30-acre property located on Hood Road in Scituate with the Norfolk Superior Court, according to Mary Elizabeth Carmody, legal counsel for the Friends of St. Frances. X. Cabrini, Inc. The Friends then had until Wednesday, March 25 to file a supplement, including a deed—at the Court’s request. “Then the court will decide,” Carmody said. “We do not know how long the decision will take.” The relationship between the archdiocese and the Friends has been rocky since 2004, when the archdiocese closed the St. Frances X. Cabrini church as part of its reorganization plan. The Friends have appealed the closure multiple times, and though the group hasn't won, its members have remained dedicated to keeping their church. With the closure, the Friends took up a 24-hour vigil, which has been ongoing ever since. Though Mass cannot be held at the church, a communion prayer service is offered thanks to a couple of sympathetic priests who consecrate the Host, and Eucharistic ministers who distribute the consecrated Host. “We will continue to fight and will seek out every appeal available to us,” Jon Rogers, a spokesman for the Friends, said. “This should not be a surprise to anyone.” Last month the Friends received a Notice to Vacate from the archdiocese, which gave the group until March 9 to vacate the property. The notice told the Friends if they failed to vacate the building by this date, the archdiocese would pursue civil recourse against them. On March 9, Rogers, along with his wife, Maryellen, said they would continue to honor the vow they made to save their church. Shortly after, the archdiocese served the summons for the preliminary Injunction, which Carmody said “is an extraordinary emergency request to have the Friends removed from St. Frances Cabrini Church.” “The Friends opposed that motion,” Carmody said. “The (archdiocese) must prove that they have a likelihood of success on the merits, that the (archdiocese) will suffer irreparable harm if the injunction is not granted and that the Friends will not suffer irreparable harm.” Terrence Donilon, a spokesman for the archdiocese, said that he was unable to comment due to the pending legal proceedings but issued a statement. “The parishes of the archdiocese welcome those involved with the vigil to join them and to participate in the fullness of active parish life in their surrounding community," the statement said. "They are good people of faith who we very much want to be part of parish life. The archdiocese stayed true to its word and respected the vigil while their canonical appeals were considered.” The statement continues that when the highest Vatican court issued its decision, the archdiocese made several attempts to acknowledge the disappointment of the Friends and to encourage them to conclude their vigil and join the open parishes in their community. “Both sides went into the process knowing the possible outcomes,” the statement reads. “The archdiocese was prepared to respect the ruling from Rome whichever way it was decided. Recently the group informed the Archdiocese of Boston it would not conclude its vigil in the building. In response, the archdiocese informed the group that they must end their occupancy of the building by March 9, 2015. Their refusal has led to the filing. We continue to hope and work for a peaceful and prayerful resolution to the vigil.” In court, Carmody said, the Friends argued, among other things, there is no emergency that would require an injunction and that the archdiocese did not prove ownership in this civil trespass action. The group also argued the action is time-barred because the archdiocese did not bring the suit within the three-year statute of limitations for civil trespass—the vigil has been ongoing for over 10 years. The Friends also said the archdiocese would not suffer any irreparable harm; it would be its members who would suffer irreparable harm, especially because they will lose their church if the injunction is granted. “The Friends also argued that the court should leave the status quo (Friends in Vigil) until the outcome of a trial on the merits in this case,” Carmody said. At a press conference following the Worship Service at the St. Frances X. Cabrini Church on March 8, Carmody said statements indicating the Friends had exhausted all of their appeals were incorrect. She said a canonical appeal was sent by the Friends to the President of the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts at the Vatican. This appeal, which was sent in November 2014, was acknowledged by the Apostolic Nuncio for the United States, and has been accepted for review by the Pontifical Council and passed on to a panel of canon law experts for their opinion. The Friends has filed several appeals, including one last June to the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura—the highest judiciary authority in the Catholic Church save for the Pope himself—which stood behind Cardinal Sean O’Malley’s decision to deconsecrate the St. Frances X. Cabrini church. This week Carmody said it is hard to predict the outcome of the case at this time as it’s not known what action the court might take. “We believe that the Friends have a strong opposition and that the court should deny the motion,” she said. Follow reporter Ruth Thompson on Twitter at @scituateruth Contact: rthompson@wickedlocal.com
|
.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.