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Leave the churches alone
By adamg on Tue, 07/19/2011 - 10:35am
Jeff Egnaczyk rides by St. James the Great in Wellesley on his way to work. He wants Rome and the Archdiocese of Boston to leave it alone, along with the other five churches it plans to sell:
The people who have maintained vigil at that church for thousands have more of a claim to it than the Vatican. They have squatters' rights by now. I don't remember ever seeing the Pope visit his "property" in Wellesley.
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Comments
The church is a business, like McDonald's
On the rare occasion that a McDonald's is not performing up to company expectations, they close it down. Same thing with churches. I feel for the die hard few who feel that a building is the only way to communicate with God, but times are tough, the collection baskets aren't filling up anymore, and so, some churches have to go.
Call me callous, but I still find it incredulous that some older Catholics have no problem contributing to a system that has done more harm than good to so many, myself included.
No Symphathy
There were good reasons why many of these parishes were closed (though it was often a choice of 1 of 4 parishes in a cluster) and it was mostly due to growth patterns. More funerals than baptisms is bad for the future.
The time and energy would have been better spent in the "new" parish rather than getting bent out of shape about the old one. Yes, it hurts, but time marches on. There aren't enough priests to cover all parishes adequately (and that won't change anytime soon), so you have to consolidate.
Want the congregation to control the church?
There's a couple of religions for you:http://www.ucc.org/
http://www.uua.org
Otherwise YOU DO AS PAPA RATZI SAYS! You agree to that as a Catholic.
Ubiquity
Congregational churches are hugely popular, particularly in New England. It'd be hard to find a town without one, and where there is a single church, it likely will be congregational, not Roman Catholic or any other flavor of Protestant polity involved.
While not Catholic or Episcopal, I can understand how the vigil folk feel ownership, particularly where their parents and grandparents have physically built the structure or paid for it.
That likely has little legal standing, as any type of donation was just that, a gift. However, such highly hierarchical churches seem to have pols in charge all the way up who exacerbate its PR problems and drive once-loyal congregants away...likely forever.
That's certainly one style of governance. It isn't surprising either considering that the current Pope has commented that he'd be happy with a smaller, more obedient membership.
RC
The Roman Catholic hierarchy is just showing some of its true colors.
There is a big disconnect between what people want and get from their parish, and what the Vatican wants from them.
Drive people away, and they won't be back, and their kids won't either, since membership is largely about childhood conditioning.
St. James.
Was my family's third choice of Catholic churches in Wellesley. We attended St. Paul's as our parish and if we missed their masses- we might go to St. John's. And if we missed them then it would be St. Patrick's in Natick for the 5PM. Actually- yeah- St. James- was our fourth choice. I maybe have been in that church like twice and both times I think there were less than 20 people at the mass. To this day if you are from Wellesley and Catholic you either went to St. Paul's or St. John's. Though I consider St. John's the "hippie" church because they had guitars and tamborines and the priests would walk around the church as they gave their homily- not proper in my mind.
Who's church is it?
You mean a group of 10-15 people who decide to be squatters in a Church....should now control it?
If they want it...they should buy it.
If you've heard the interview with any of these people, they are far from Christlike...they are bitter, angry, and a tad self-centered.
It's all about them.
Entitled....
Is this aprt of the "entitlement society"?
I want something...so I am entitled to it?