By Jennifer Mann
Patriot Ledger
April 23, 2010
http://www.patriotledger.com/business/x53549581/Scituate-claim-win-against-Archdiocese-to-tax-the-closed-Cabrini-church
The town is claiming a significant victory in its effort to collect over $200,000 in property taxes on a closed church that is owned by the Archdiocese of Boston.
The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston has withdrawn a Suffolk Superior Court complaint, in which it had asked a judge to rule the town could not tax the St. Frances X. Cabrini Church as long as it was not being used for a non-religious purpose.
The archdiocese will continue to pursue appeals before the state Appellate Tax Board, which were filed for each of the years the church was taxed, spokesman Terrence Donilan said. Donilan said the archdiocese's stance remains strong.
"This pertains only to (fiscal year) 2007 and does not reflect a change in our position that the church should not be subject to taxation by the town of Scituate for the closed parish of St. Frances," Donilon wrote in an e-mail.
His e-mail did not say why the archdiocese decided to end its efforts in superior court.
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| The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston has withdrawn a Suffolk Superior Court complaint, in which it asked a judge to rule the town of Scituate could not collect property taxes for the St. Frances X. Cabrini Church, which was closed in 2004. Photo by Greg Derr |
He said the archdiocese's fiscal resources are limited and "any demand on the Church for such payments risks the ability of the Church to provide for the community as a religious entity."
Jay Talerman, the attorney who represented the town on the case, called Thursday's development "a very big deal." Town Assessor Brian Sullivan noted the 3-year-old case was dismissed with prejudice. That means the archdiocese is barred from filing any other type of claim on the matter. Sullivan said dismissal with prejudice was an indicator of the archdiocese's weak legal position.
"We took what I considered to be the right position, and it was a bold decision," Sullivan said. "What this means is the assessors were right all along. The property was taxable property."
The St. Frances church has been in limbo since October 2004, when the archdiocese closed it and 67 other churches to cut costs. That action came at a time there were fewer priest available for parish duties and in the wake of the priest sex abuse scandal.
Parishioners have held daily vigil at the church while appealing the closure to the Vatican.
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| St. Frances X. Cabrini Church in Scituate was among the local Catholic churches slated for closing more than five years ago. Photo by Greg Derr |
Scituate's assessors argued the property lost its tax-exempt status when it ceased operating as a church. On Dec. 1, 2005, they sent out their first $40,000 bill for the 30-acre property, which includes the church, rectory and parish hall.
The archdiocese has continued to pay the property taxes while its appeals were pending. Sullivan said the amount of taxes in question now totals more than $200,000. The property, assessed for about $4.45 million in 2005, is now worth about $3 million, Sullivan said.
The archdiocese in the superior court complaint argued the property retains tax-exempt status as long as it is not being used for a non-religious purpose. The archdiocese noted it was prevented by Canon Law from using the property for anything else as long as there was an ongoing appeal by parishioners.
Mark DeFrancisco, chief counsel for the Appellate Tax Board, said the dismissal of the superior court case does not have any automatic consequence for the appeals pending before the tax board, which will ultimately determine whether the archdiocese is refunded the taxes it has paid. Those cases were continued by agreement while the superior court case played out, and they will now resume.
DeFrancisco said, however, that if the Archdiocese had won in superior court it would have forced the town to refund the money without any decision by the tax board.
Contact: jmann@ledger.com
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