Scituate Parishioners Ordered to Face Archdiocese in Court

By Patriot Ledger
Wicked Local Scituate
March 20, 2015

http://scituate.wickedlocal.com/article/20150320/NEWS/150329556

A group of parishioners who have held vigil in a closed Scituate church for more than a decade have been ordered to appear in court after refusing to abandon the building earlier this month.

The group, which calls itself the Friends of St. Frances Cabrini, said it was served with a summons Thursday from the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston ordering it to appear in Norfolk Superior Court on Friday afternoon. The group said the archbishop is seeking a preliminary injunction against the group, which has refused to leave the Hood Road church it has been occupied for 10 years despite a threat of legal action from the archdiocese last month.

"The Friends stand ready and prepared to meet this next challenge," the group said in a statement Friday. "The Friends intend to take advantage of every legal avenue and process available to them to fully defend this civil legal action brought against them by the Archbishop and Archdiocese of Boston. "

Terrence Donilon, a spokesman for the archdiocese, declined to comment on the summons Friday morning, citing the "pending legal proceedings."

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Church was among dozens of Boston-area parishes pegged for closure in 2004 as part of a reconfiguration plan meant to address the archdiocese’s growing debt. The archdiocese has considered the church a deconsecrated building since October 2004, through parishioners, in defiance of church orders, have refused to leave the building.

Since the vigil started, several longtime members have taken turns holding a service each Sunday, using a host that has been consecrated by a sympathetic priest whose identity is kept a secret. The group celebrated the 10th anniversary of the vigil in October.

Then last month, the group received a letter from the Archdiocese of Boston ordering it to vacate the church by March 9 or face legal recourse. In response, the group hired a lawyer who fought the church over a similar issue in Framingham.