Don’t you dare close it

In the continuing campaign to undermine anything the archdiocese does, the Boston Globe yesterday presented us with this story. It’s yet another group of people who want to put their noses in the Church’s business: Some historical preservationists are getting antsy about the potential closing of “historically significant” churches.

Lets get one thing straight: the buildings exist for the Church and the people, not the other way around. Their primary significance is as a place for worship, not as museums or art pieces. If the archdiocese decides to close about 50 or 60 parishes in Eastern Mass. (my estimate), then what are these preservationists going to do? Are they going to buy all these buildings? Or are we supposed to let them sit empty and significant? It’s not like there are all kinds of other denominations lining up to buy parishes.

It’s funny that when the Church wants to have an impact on society, people run around screaming about separation of church and state, but when these people want to tell the Church what to doDate>

https://www.bettnet.com/?p=2785

The US bishops are beginning their ad limina visits to the Vatican this week. The ad limina visits are an old part of the law by which every bishop in the world is required to meet with the Holy Father once every seven years. Over the next few weeks, the bishops will arrive in small groups for audiences at which the Pope will give an address that speaks to the particular situation of the Church in that country, but also has wider application, like the Pope’s words on Sunday sports to the Australian bishops on Friday. As this is the first ad limina visits for the US bishops since the Scandal broke, I can imagine he might have some words on that topic in the coming weeks.