WORCESTER (MA)
MassLive
By John F. Hill | john.hill@masslive.com
on March 13, 2014
A lawsuit that claims the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester refused to sell a Northbridge mansion to a gay couple who wanted to host weddings at the property has received the support of the Massachusetts Attorney General.
Martha Coakley’s office said it filed a brief Thursday in Worcester District Court, arguing that anti-discrimination laws should apply to religious institutions.
“Our laws provide important protections for religious organizations and people of faith,” Coakley said in a statement. “These laws also strike a balance between religious freedoms and the rights of individuals to be free from discrimination. 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.”
The case was filed in 2012 by James Fairbanks and Alain Beret, a married couple from Sutton. The pair were looking for a venue in which to run an inn and host weddings, and wanted to buy the historic Oakhurst mansion in Northbridge, according to a Boston Globe story on the lawsuit.
The property was owned by House of Affirmation, Inc., an affiliate of the Worcester Diocese. After the diocese accepted an initial offer for the 26 acre property, the deal fell apart during negotiations, according to the lawsuit.
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