Parishioners at a shuttered Catholic church in Scituate say they will continue their 11 year vigil there, despite an Appeals Court ruling this week that said they’re trespassing.
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The statements from members of Friends of St. Frances X. Cabrini came at a news conference a day after the Massachusetts Appeals Court ruled that they are trespassers and the Boston Archdiocese, as the owner of the property, has the right to order them to leave. The group, which has lost a series of decisions in canonical and secular courts, is now reviewing its options.
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Church is the last of six Boston-area churches that parishioners occupied in protest against a 2004 decision by the Archdiocese of Boston to close a few 70 churches.
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The parishioners had argued that they should be considered as the owners of the property since their financial contributions helped build church in the 1960s and maintain it throughout the years when it was open.
The group said the church sex abuse crisis motivates them to keep fighting.
But the court agreed with the lower court judge’s conclusion that they are trespassing.
A group of the parishioners who have held a vigil at their closed church for more than a decade is asking for mercy from Cardinal Sean O’Malley.
In a statement Wednesday, archdiocese spokesman Terrence Donilon asked that parishioners consider joining other churches.
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Carmody said the Friends of St. Frances will ask for a further review of their appeal and will file a separate appeal to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Archdiocesan officials cited declining attendance, aging priests and rising maintenance costs as reasons for closing dozens of parishes. “The parishes of the Archdiocese welcome and invite those involved with the vigil to participate and join in the fullness of parish life”.
