Boston archdiocese seeks to close churches

Part of the fallout from the sickening failures of leadership in the Boston archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church? The archdiocese is attempting to close congregations in order to recover financially from the massive payouts stemming from the sexual abuse of parishioners by their clergy, and the wink-wink handling of the whole sordid affair by higher-ups. Reports MSNBC:

The parishes - St. Albert the Great in Weymouth, St. Anselm in Sudbury and St. Bernard in Newton - are among 82 that Bishop Sean P. O'Malley ordered shut by year's end in a restructuring prompted by falling attendance and economic woes caused partly by the clergy sex abuse scandal that began in Boston.

St. Albert parishioners, who have occupied that church since Aug. 29, went to court seeking an injunction to stop the archdiocese from selling church buildings and other assets, arguing that the church belongs to them, not the archdiocese. They also argue that St. Albert's, with 1,600 families, a paid-off mortgage and renovated buildings, fits none of the criteria O'Malley said would be used to decide which churches would be shuttered.