HOLYOKE (MA)
The Republican
By The Republican Editorials
The members of Mater Dolorosa Church in Holyoke who decided to end their year-long round-the-clock prayer vigil last Sunday can leave with their heads held high knowing they did all they could to save the building they love so much.
In complying with an order to end their vigil which began June 30, – the last day of Mass at the church – the protesters assured their case will get a hearing from the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican’s supreme court.
The road to this point was not a straight nor an easy one. Diocesan officials early on took the position that the authority to close churches rested entirely with them and that church members should concentrate their energies on adjusting to their new house of worship. As the vigil went on, they went so far as to accuse the church members of trespassing in their own church and filed a lawsuit against the group to force members to leave.
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