How Should Wellesley Handle the St. James Situation?

As Wellesley heads toward a town meeting that will determine the fate of officially, the church’s parishioners are still involved in keeping the church active.

The church was closed in 2004, and the Archdiocese have since . The town plans to build a state-of-the-art sports complex on the property. The parishioners, however, have filed to the Vatican to keep the church open, the final appeal available to them.

Regardless of how the town decides at the June 13 special town meeting, Wellesley can’t take any action until the parishioners leave – or are removed – from the property. They won’t go until their final appeal is heard.

The situation is not without precedent. The Future Church website monitors church closings locally on its ParishWatch page. Though the site seems to have stopped posting new information since Oct. 15, 2011, there have been

In April, the Archdiocese of Boston locked parishioners out of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in East Boston in the middle of the night.

Churches do sometimes reopen. The Vatican opened 13 closed churches in Cleveland in March.

So which way should Wellesley go? One selectman said if the parishioners refuse to leave if they lose the fight. Or, do you think the Archdiocese should lock the parishioners out if they lose their final appeal? Should the Vatican decide to reopen the church?

Please leave your opinion in the comments.