WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
By Gary V. Murray TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
gmurray@telegram.com
WORCESTER — Two Sutton men filed a lawsuit today accusing Diocese of Worcester officials of unlawfully discriminating against them on the basis of sexual orientation during the course of negotiations for the sale of church property in Northbridge.
James Fairbanks and Alain J. Beret, a married gay couple, allege in their Worcester Superior Court suit that their offer to buy the Oakhurst Conference and Retreat Center, a 44-bedroom mansion in Northbridge, was rejected by church officials solely because they are gay and might have held same-sex weddings on the property.
The diocese has denied the allegation.
Mr. Fairbanks and Mr. Beret said they planned to renovate the aging mansion and turn it into a banquet facility that would host weddings and other events, as well as their personal residence. Owned by House of Affirmation Inc., an affiliate of the diocese, the site at 120 Hill St. in Northbridge was formerly known as the House of Affirmation, a treatment center for pedophile priests that closed in the 1980s.
On June 8, a day after Mr. Fairbanks and Mr. Beret made a revised $550,000 offer for Oakhurst and 6 acres of the 26-acre site, Monsignor Thomas Sullivan sent the following email to the diocesan broker, according to the suit.
“I just went down the hall and discussed it with the bishop. Because of the potentiality of gay marriages there, something you shared with us yesterday, we are not interested in going forward with these buyers. I think they’re shaky anyway.
So, just tell them that we will not accept their revised plan and the Diocese is making new plans for the property. You find the language.” …
Diocesan spokesman Raymond L. Delisle referred all questions concerning the lawsuit to James G. Reardon Jr., lawyer for the diocese. Mr. Reardon could not be reached for comment.
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