| |
|
|
Collateral damage
BY ADAM REILLY
|
|
|
|
|
As the Archdiocese of Boston prepares to shut down 65 local parishes, public attention has focused on the massive emotional impact these closures will have. But Boston at-large city councilor Felix Arroyo has another concern — namely, the uncertain fate of the social-service programs housed in the Church properties destined for the auction block. Last week, Arroyo sent a carefully worded letter to Archbishop Seán O’Malley in which, after expressing his condolences for the imminent shut-downs, he urged the archdiocese to plan carefully for their aftermath. "I know that the Catholic Church is going through very difficult pains," Arroyo said earlier this week. "But we don’t want to lose sight of the fact that many of the Church’s buildings closing in Boston include schools and day cares and service to elders and immigrants and tutoring programs. I don’t want to tell the Church what to do with its property — only how to do it in a way that minimizes the impact on the communities that surround those buildings. And I’m sure the Church will be sensitive to this goal." Those who share Arroyo’s concerns could point to Holy Trinity Catholic Church on Shawmut Avenue, in the South End. Holy Trinity currently houses the Cardinal Medeiros Center, which offers day shelter to homeless elders, and a program for homeless youth run by the Bridge Over Troubled Waters social-services outreach group. Where those programs will move when Holy Trinity closes remains to be seen. The same is true for the alternative high school COMPASS Inc., currently in the middle of a two-year lease at Jamaica Plain’s Blessed Sacrament. The church is slated for closure, leaving the school to face an uncertain future. It’s possible that a city task force charged with mitigating the local impact of Church closings, announced by Mayor Tom Menino earlier this week, will address Arroyo’s concerns. But in the end — for better or worse — primary responsibility will rest with the archdiocese. As of Tuesday, Arroyo had not received a response to his letter, and archdiocesan spokesman Christopher Coyne declined to comment on the councilor’s request. Time will tell if Arroyo’s faith in the Church is well-founded.
|
