AMERICA WATCH: US Catholics To Close America’s Largest Hungarian Church
By Worthy News Staff
BUDAPEST/WASHINGTON (Worthy News)– The Catholic Church of the United States wants to sell the largest church of the ethnic Hungarian community in America as part of an apparent effort to raise money for victims of child abuse by priests, Worthy News monitored.
The Catholic Church plans to sell St. Emeric in Cleveland, Ohio, despite protests from the 650 parishioners, Hungarian media reported.
Hungary’s largest newspaper, Nepszabadsag, said St. Emeric’s community has appealed to Bishop Richard Lennon “in vain” and that the parishioners’ planned appeal to the Vatican is not likely to reverse the situation either. There was no immediate comment from the Catholic Church leadership.
Miklos Peller, spokesman for the community, was quoted as saying that revenues from the sale of the valuable property — built from Hungarian donations 105 years ago — would be used to ease the US Catholic Church’s financial situation in and outside Cleveland.
COMPENSATION CLAIMS
“They won’t tell us what they need the money for, but one reads a lot about those compensations,” Peller told the paper in reference to claims against the Catholic Church by paedophilia victims.
The bishop has confirmed that he is planning to close 50 out of Cleveland’s 250 Catholic churches, including one serving the ethnic Polish, Czech and Lithuanian communities. (Worthy News’ AMERICA WATCH is a new feature in cooperation with BosNewsLife agency covering key events impacting the Church and/or compassionate professionals at a time of reports of growing turbulence within the Christian community of the United States).