WORCESTER (MA)
Boston Globe
[House of Affirmation – BishopAccountability.org]
Editorial
September 12, 2012
There are no exemptions to fair housing laws for religious organizations in Massachusetts, nor should there be. So when the Diocese of Worcester terminated a real estate negotiation with a gay couple, apparently out of fear that a former church property might eventually be used for gay weddings, the diocese was on the wrong side of the law.
Defenders say the diocese should be able to prevent former church properties from being used for purposes of which the diocese disapproves. And in certain situations, such as turning former church buildings into bars, the diocese may be able to exercise its discretion as a property seller without trampling on anyone’s rights. But it can’t in the case at hand.
The couple seeking to buy the the church-owned Oakhurst mansion in Northbridge said they never even raised the issue of gay marriage during the negotiation. They hoped to turn the estate house into an inn. The diocese, in turn, indicated that its concerns extended only to the buyers’ financial viability. But an inadvertently distributed e-mail from Monsignor Thomas Sullivan, chancellor of the diocese, cited a conversation with the bishop about the “potentiality of gay marriages’’ at the future inn as a reason not to go forward with the negotiation.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.