MASSACHUSETTS
Boston.com
By Charlotte Wilder @thewilderthings
Boston.com Staff
Judge Raymond Brassard of Norfolk Superior Court granted parishioners of St. Frances X Cabrini Church in Scituate a chance to file their case with the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday. The filing with the highest court in America will be the last battle in an 11-year fight to stop the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston from closing their church.
The church hasn’t been empty in over a decade. For 11 years, members of the approximately 100 people who make up the group known as the “Friends of St. Frances X. Cabrini” have kept a constant vigil inside their beloved building to keep it from closing.
The hearing Monday was to consider the parishioners’ emergency motion to suspend any of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston’s future orders to close the church while they work on an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to save St. Frances.
At the hearing, the church’s lawyer, William Dailey, and the parishioners’ lawyer, Mary Beth Carmody, came to an agreement that will allow the parishioners the 90 days they need to file with the Supreme Court rather than having to leave the premises by January 8. However, if the Supreme Court decides not to hear the parishioners’ case or doesn’t find in their favor, they must give up the fight and vacate the premises within 14 days of the decision.
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