Judge Rules 11-year Vigil at Closed Church Must Stop

By Jennifer Levitz
Wall Street Journal
May 29, 2015

http://www.wsj.com/articles/judge-rules-11-year-vigil-at-closed-church-must-stop-1432936932

A Massachusetts judge refused to halt the eviction of parishioners who have held a nearly 11-year vigil at a closed Roman Catholic church south of Boston.

A Superior Court judge ruled Friday that the unbroken vigil at St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Church must cease by June 5.

Parishioners, working in shifts, have occupied the Scituate, Mass., church round-the-clock since it was closed by the Archdiocese of Boston in 2004 as part of a downsizing plan.

A judge said this month that vigil participants were trespassing and ordered them to leave, at a date the court would determine later.

The parishioners filed an emergency motion to suspend the eviction. The judge denied that request Friday and ordered the occupation to end by 5 p.m. on June 5.

Parishioners said they plan to appeal the ruling to a state appeals court early next week.