BOSTON (AP) - Parishioners illegally occupying a Catholic church south of Boston for nearly 11 years have been given a reprieve.
A Massachusetts appeals judge on Wednesday allowed the Friends of St. Frances X. Cabrini Church to continue their round-the-clock vigil while they appeal a lower court ruling that ordered them to vacate earlier this month.
A three-panel judge will next consider their bid to have the eviction order thrown altogether. That will come at a later date.
State Appeals Court Judge Judd Carhart heard arguments in the case Wednesday morning in a brief hearing packed with protesters.
The group’s lawyer argued that the lower court judge made “several” and “consistent” legal errors in reaching his decision.
The Archdiocese of Boston cited the cost of maintaining the building in Scituate and its liability if someone is injured as reasons to evict them.
Parishioners illegally occupying a long-closed Roman Catholic church had their day in court Wednesday as the Archdiocese of Boston seeks to evict them.
The protesters “have no right to be on the property,” said William Dailey, the archdiocese lawyer. “They knew from the time they first went into the church that they were trespassers and that they were subject to arrest at any time.”
Judge Carhart took the arguments under advisement and said he’d rule later on the request.
The group is the last of a number of church occupations that popped up when the archdiocese decided to close dozens of Boston-area churches in 2004 in an attempt to stabilize its finances.
The protesters have occupied St. Frances Cabrini Church around-the-clock ever since, with at least one person at all times holding vigil in the now-deconsecrated building and members holding well-attended Sunday services each week.
The protesters say they want the archdiocese to either restore their parish’s standing or let them purchase the building outright.
The church sits on roughly 30 acres of prime, largely undeveloped real estate overlooking Massachusetts Bay about 30 miles south of Boston.
They say their fight is not only about protecting the rights of Catholics to worship in churches they’ve known their whole lives, but also a stand against the clergy sex abuse scandal that rocked the Boston-area before expanding nationally and globally.
“People are more aware now of how the church hierarchy deals with parishioners,” said Terry McDonough, who says he spends one night a week sleeping at the church as part of the overnight protest shift. “They encourage you to participate, and they when you try to participate, they say ‘Sit down and shut up.’ It’s not right.”
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