Court: Bishop may sell church
By ALBERT McKEON, Telegraph Staff
mckeona@telegraph-nh.com

Nashua Telegraph, NH
Dec 8 2004

Published: Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2004

NASHUA – Addressing a contentious argument surfacing throughout
American Catholicism, a judge ruled that a bishop and not parishioners
have direct control of a church.

Bishop John McCormack thus can sell St. Francis Xavier Church to the
Armenian Orthodox Church because the transaction observes restrictions
in the French Hill property’s 119-year-old deed, according to a
Hillsborough County Probate Court judge.

But former parishioners of St. Francis Xavier disagree, and hold hope
that a civil court judge will soon favor their side. The parishioners
filed a civil suit in Hillsborough County Superior Court contending
they are beneficiaries of the church, and that McCormack essentially
manages the property in trust for them.

Attorney Randall Wilbert, who represents the group of parishioners,
said the probate court ruling – handed down Nov. 23 – does not affect
his clients, and that they still await a decision in the civil court.
They believe a state law cements their rights, and that the proposed
sale defies their interests, he said.

But those involved in the potential sale, while also awaiting a
decision in the civil court, express satisfaction with the probate
ruling. McCormack, as leader of the Diocese of Manchester, has a $1
million purchase-and-sale agreement with local real estate developer
Vatche Manoukian.

Manoukian intends to donate the property to the Armenian Orthodox
Church because he has identified a potential parishioner base for the
church, his attorney, Gerald Prunier, said Tuesday. A sale, however,
is based upon the final approval of Archbishop Torkom Manoogian,
the Armenian Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The matter is now
before church hierarchy, and all interested parties hope a decision
will come early next year, Prunier said.

“It’s a good use of the church,” he said.

That use was the focus of the probate argument, one initiated by the
Catholic diocese, and it also lies at the heart of the civil case.

The diocese closed the century-old Norman basilica-style building
last year and merged the parish with St. Louis de Gonzague Church.
Diocesan officials maintain the Armenian church’s use of the building
would follow the precepts of an 1885 deed granted by The Jackson Co.,
a textile manufacturer that donated the hilltop land on which the
building sits. That stipulation is the land must always hold a place
of religious observance.

“If the donor had wanted the property to be used for a Roman Catholic
church, the donor would have written that,” diocesan attorney
Ovide Lamontagne said Tuesday. “But the donor said public religious
purposes.”

Probate Court Judge Raymond Cloutier agreed, ruling that the
transaction would be in accordance with the deed. Cloutier also ruled
that McCormack holds “legal title” for the Diocese of Manchester.

“Individual parishioners of Saint Francis Xavier do not have standing
in the matter before the court as it relates to . . . the sale of
the property,” Cloutier wrote.

But Wilbert said the former parishioners, in fact, do have standing.
A legislative bill enacted in 1901 recognizes them as beneficiaries,
and the bishop who leads the diocese only holds the property in trust
on their behalf, Wilbert said. This argument was presented in the
civil case.

The issue of who has controlling interest in a church – a bishop
or parishioners – has risen to the forefront of several challenges
involving the closing of parishes throughout the country. Several
dioceses have, as part of a restructuring program, closed old churches
that have significant spiritual and sentimental value to parishioners.

St. Francis Xavier opened in 1898 after French-Canadian immigrant
mill workers funded its construction with their own nickels and
dimes. But the diocese closed the building last year and merged the
parish with St. Louis de Gonzague, citing a dwindling parishioner
base and collection coffers, and the prevailing clergy shortage.

The diocese points to a clergy-and-parishioner-driven task force
as proof that church leaders thoughtfully considered options before
selecting St. Francis and two other inner-city churches for closure.
But many St. Francis parishioners protested all efforts to close the
Chandler Street church; some of them are plaintiffs in the civil suit.

“As unfortunate, as difficult as it is for parishes to be closed and
consolidated, it’s the necessary evolution for the church,” Lamontagne
said. For that work to carry forward, the bishop must have authority
to act on behalf of parishioners, he said.

Lamontagne had noted in his probate argument that Catholic canon
law governs the organization of the church, and that a parish falls
under this jurisdiction. Parishioners “cannot and do not speak for
the parish,” he wrote.

He hopes the civil court will recognize this organizational structure.

But the parishioners hope the civil court will view the matter
differently: that state law does give them a voice.