Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Update on Holy Trinity Church, Boston

From the June issue of Monatsbote, the monthly newsletter of Holy Trinity Church:
Dear Monatsbote Readers,

It is with great sadness and regret that we must inform our readers that His Eminence, Seán Cardinal O’Malley has set June 30, 2008 as the date for the closure of Holy Trinity. Although four years have passed since this intention was first announced, we still do not know why our church was specifically identified for elimination. While it seems to us that successful parishes with unique missions should be among the last to be sacrificed to help the Archdiocese adjust to administration challenges and demographic changes, others apparently do not see it that way. We have repeatedly been asked to accept on faith that the Archdiocese will be better off without us. Those requests not withstanding, it is expected that some parishioners will exercise their canonical right to appeal this order to the appropriate parties and at the appropriate time.

For everyone’s information you will find in this issue the text of the Archbishop’s “letter of intent.” You will also find a copy of the letter sent by members of the Parish Council to Bishop Hennessey in which they raised concerns with many parts of the letter he read to the Presbyteral Council in March when he asked them to consider the Holy Trinity case. (The Bishop’s letter appeared in the May issue of Monatsbote.) Although there was no reply or acknowledgement from Bishop Hennessey, the authors are convinced that their objections are both pertinent and valid to the closure decision.

Many questions have been raised about the disposition of the parish’s property and resources. Unfortunately, we currently do not know the answers. It is expected that over the next few weeks, we will learn what needs to happen both during and after the appeal process takes its course. We are hopeful that the matter will be clearer by the time that our next (and possibly final) issue goes to press.

Peter V. Cooper, Editor

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