SCITUATE (MA)
The Republican
By The Associated Press
By JAY LINDSAY
BOSTON — The Vatican has rejected an appeal by parishioners who’ve occupied a Scituate church in protest since the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston closed it eight years ago.
The decision announced Monday by the archdiocese is a blow to a protest at St. Frances X. Cabrini church that is, by far, the strongest remaining of several that arose after widespread church closings were announced by the archdiocese in 2004.
In the ruling, the Vatican upheld Cardinal Sean O’Malley’s decision to convert the Scituate church building to secular use — a step necessary before sale.
In other dioceses, including in Springfield and in Allentown, Pa., the same Vatican office refused to let dioceses close church buildings, ruling the dioceses hadn’t given adequate reasons. But this time, it said the Scituate appeal wasn’t justified by the facts or church law.
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