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	Catholic Church under Fire for Spending 260,000 on a New Home for a Wirral Priest By AVTOR Liverpool Daily Post December 28, 2009 http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2009/12/28/catholic-church-under-fire-for-spending-260-000-on-a-new-home-for-a-wirral-priest-92534-25478804/2/ United Kingdom -- The Catholic church has come under fire for spending £260,000 on a new home for a Wirral priest – just yards from a presbytery they controversially closed last year. The ongoing campaign against the closure of Ss Peter and Paul's church in New Brighton, known as the "Dome of Home", took a new twist after a campaigner discovered the purchase. Cllr Tony Pritchard, who has supported the campaign group SOUL – Save Our Unique Landmark – described the situation as "absurd". He said: "This house is only a stone's throw from the presbytery that they already had which was perfectly fine for the previous priest Fr Wentworth. "The building is in good condition, and I would think could certainly be made habitable for less than was spent on an entirely new house." Earlier this year SOUL took their battle to reopen the church to the Vatican where the Congregation of the Clergy returned a critical verdict on the closure. Those fighting the closure said they had been assured that the Diocese would abide by the Congregation of the Clergy's decision, but it later appeared that the Shrewsbury Diocese were appealing against the verdict. Since the closure of Ss Peter and Paul's church, members of the congregation have been offered services at the nearby Anglican All Saints Church, although a number have chosen to go to Catholic masses elsewhere. The Diocese forced the closure in 2008, saying Ss Peter and Paul's was too large for the congregation and too expensive to keep operating. Earlier this year, the Catholic church had been issued with an ultimatum to repair the crumbling Grade II-listed church building or face legal action. Wirral council wrote to the Bishop of Shrewsbury, the Rt Rev Brian Noble, insisting that repairs be carried out. In September an application was submitted to erect security fencing around the church amid fears it could be targeted by vandals. Cllr Pritchard said: "This new house is just three or four minutes from the current church – where is the sense in that?" According to Land Registry documents, the new home for the New Brighton priest is Gorsehill Road, which was acquired by the Shrewsbury Roman Catholic Diocesan trustees on October 23, 2009 for £260,000. Cllr Paul Hayes, who has also been supporting SOUL's campaign, said: "The clergy play an incredibly important role in our communities and they should be provided with good accommodation. "However it is ludicrous that Shrewsbury Diocese continuously claims it doesn't have the money for even basic maintenance works on Ss Peter and Paul's Church whilst forking out £260,000 on a new home for the parish priest when there is a perfectly good presbytery lying vacant." Fr John Joyce, spokesman for the Shrewsbury Diocese, said they would be making no comment about the councillors' complaints.
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