WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
By Scott J. Croteau TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
scroteau@telegram.com
WORCESTER — Attorney General Martha Coakley is supporting a gay couple’s legal battle against the Diocese of Worcester after the pair was allegedly denied the right to buy a church-owned mansion in Northbridge.
Two Sutton men, James E. Fairbanks and Alain J. Beret, a married gay couple, filed a civil suit in Worcester Superior Court in 2012 against the diocese and its real estate agent after their offer to buy the Oakhurst Conference and Retreat Center, a 44-bedroom mansion in the Whitinsville section of Northbridge, was rejected by the Diocese of Worcester.
The lawsuit contends the diocese ended the deal because the men are gay and might hold same-sex weddings on the property.
“In this case, we believe that this family was unfairly discriminated against by the Diocese when it refused to sell them property based on their sexual orientation,” Ms. Coakley said in a written statement.
The diocese has denied the allegations.
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