Church and State: St. James to be Discussed Among Church and Town Officials at Meetings Today

Today, the Board of Selectmen will hold a meeting in executive session to discuss potential plans for the St. James the Great Church property, while the vigil group lobbying for the church to reopen will meet with the Archdiocese of Boston, which wants the group out so it can take back the property once and for all.

The meetings come two weeks after Peter Borre, head of the Council of Parishes, which represents nine area parishes ordered to close by Archbishop Sean O'Malley during the sweeping area church closings of 2004, gave a letter addressed to Pope Benedict XVI for his intervention.  

The St. James vigil group has hung onto the building at 900 Worcester St. since Oct. 31, 2004; Parishioner Paul Hughes said he knows what to expect of the meeting with the Archdiocese today.

"There's a perception that we're not going to be able to continue that much longer," he said. "That the Archdiocese is going to tell us to move on."

The Vatican already told them too. In May, Apsostolic Signatura, the Vatican's highest court, ruled that St. James, along with several other area parishes, would close. Yesterday, there were two cars parked outside of St. James, and the building's doors were locked.

Despite the church's six-year state of flux, the town of Wellesley has continued to develop plans for the property. At a recent meeting of the Board of Selectmen, Planning Board chair Don McCauley and Recreation Commission chair Andy Wrobel outlined in detail plans to construct a state of the art sports facility including an ice rink, pool, and playing fields at the Route 9 East site.

"If you're listening, we'd love to buy your property," Wrobel said following his presentation at the Oct. 18 meeting of the Board of Selectmen.

The entire project is contingent upon the purchase of the property, however. Hans Larsen, executive director of general government for the town of Wellesley, said they have to be prepared in the event that the Archdiocese and the vigil group finally come to terms.

"We're thinking of getting positioned to make an offer," he said. "We want to be ready to move quickly."

The Archdiocese has its ear to the situation. Terrence Donilon, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Boston, said the Archdiocese is very well aware of Wellesley's plans, and while the powers that be within the fourth largest archdiocese in the US are not necessarily ready to hear offers on the property due to the ongoing talks with the vigil group, they want an amicable end to the vigil's presence first and foremost.

"It just can't continue into infinity here," Donilon said. "They've been heard, we've been respectful and patient but they have to go."

Borre said there could be consequences to bear for vigil participants if they do not - eventually - act accordingly. Should the Archdiocese choose to do so, it could seek to evict the parishioners via a state court, as a landlord could a tenant who is delinquent on rent, Borre said.

Borre said he does not expect a response to his letter until after the New Year, due to the Christmas season and general proceedings in the Vatican, and while this final appeal attempt is a long shot for the parishioners, he said anything is possible.

"It's a little bit like asking the Governor for clemency when you're ordered to croak," he said, adding that the Archdiocese reopened four churches which had similar parishioner vigils in 2005. "The odds are very much against us, but it's one of the last things these parishioners can do."

Hughes is not optimistic about his parish's chances to reopen, but he said the parishioners have collectively put their best foot forward despite not having a leg to stand on.

"We have to keep giving it a chance" to reopen, he said.