Mount Carmel waits for court hearing on demolition

By Margaret M. Russell
The Catholic Free Press

“Out of respect for the court” all work on Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church has been stopped, according to Msgr. F. Stephen Pedone, pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish.
The diocese was served notice Tuesday of a civil lawsuit filed in Worcester Superior Court by the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Preservation Society and 10 individuals attempting to stop the demolition of the church.    
Last week the society was told that they had exhausted their appeals to the Vatican to overturn decisions made by Bishop McManus regarding the former Our Lady of Mount Carmel-St. Ann Parish and its church buildings.
The diocese was told that the canonical process Bishop McManus followed to close the church, merge  Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Our Lady of Loreto parishes, and relegate Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church to profane but not sordid use, had been upheld.
Mauro DePasquale, Preservation Society president, warned they were looking into further legal action. Mr. DePasquale is one of the individuals who filed suit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester, F&D Truck Co., Inc., the company hired for the demolition, and Carol Gladstone, in her official capacity as commissioner of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance.
The plaintiffs allege that the diocese “breached conditions of its deed” and that the “Commonwealth is now the legal owner of the property.”
The “facts” of the case allege that the parish property was conveyed to the diocese by the state in 1947 and is “subject to use restriction and reversion provision” of the deed since it would no longer be used for “religious, educational or recreational purposes.”
The Boston law firm of Anderson Kreiger will represent the diocese in the case. The first hearing is set for April 30.
A history of the parish states that the land on which the church was built was purchased in 1926 by the Diocese of Springfield from Mary Foley of Worcester for $24,500.
Bishop McManus closed the church May 1, 2016, for safety reasons.
The plan to begin taking out the church’s stained glass windows this past week has been delayed until after the court hearing, Msgr. Pedone said Wednesday. He also said the parish has received a six-month extension on its demolition permit from the city.