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	Court Rejects Appeal in Closed-Church Case Toledo Bishop Shut St. James in 2005 By David Yonke Toledo Blade May 7, 2009 http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090507/NEWS10/905070344/-1/OPINION02 The Ohio Supreme Court yesterday refused to hear an appeal by members of the former St. James Catholic Parish in Kansas, Ohio, a rural church closed by Toledo Bishop Leonard Blair in July, 2005. The court gave no reason for its unanimous, 7-0 decision. Members of the closed parish, located in rural Seneca County about 40 miles southeast of Toledo, said yesterday they were disappointed, but not surprised. "Based on the way some of the courts have been ruling in the past, it was a long shot," Steve Johnson said. "We felt the law was on our side all along, but sometimes there are political forces and other forces at work that make these things difficult for a small parish like ours." He said the members have not decided whether to pursue further legal action, which has cost them approximately $100,000 thus far. Parishioners began fighting to save their church even before it was closed, holding a continuous prayer vigil in the white, wood-framed church from May, 2005, until the diocese locked them out in March, 2006. They filed an appeal with the Vatican, which ruled that Bishop Blair and the Toledo diocese properly followed church law in closing the parish. The ex-parishioners then took their case to civil court, filing a suit in Seneca County Common Pleas Court in June, 2006. The group sought ownership of St. James Church and property for their "use and enjoyment" and did not seek to have the church reinstated as a Roman Catholic parish. The diocese contended that closing St. James Parish was an internal church matter, that the deed to the property was in Bishop Blair's name, and that the former parishioners "have no legal right to any diocese or St. James Parish property." It cited the need for church-state separation and called the ex-parishioners "a disgruntled group … unhappy with the bishop's decision." Seneca County Common Pleas Court ruled in the diocese's favor in March, 2008, and the Ohio 3rd District Court of Appeals upheld the verdict in December, 2008. St. James parish, founded in 1889, had about 200 members when it was closed. Mr. Johnson said between 35 and 60 members of Kansas St. James Parish of Ohio, Inc. - a nonprofit organization formed by the parishioners in 2006 - continue to meet weekly for prayer services in a Kansas Methodist church. Contact David Yonke at: dyonke@theblade.com or 419-724-6154.
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