MyFox Washington DC | Jesuits Closing Boston Church That Serves Many Gays

MyFox Washington DC | Jesuits Closing Boston Church That Serves Many Gays

Jesuits Closing Boston Church That Serves Many Gays

Last Edited: Monday, 16 Apr 2007, 7:23 AM EDT
Created: Monday, 16 Apr 2007, 7:23 AM EDT

MyFox Faith By The Associated Press


BOSTON -- The Jesuits are closing a Boston church that serves a largely gay congregation and putting the building up for sale because they can no longer afford to keep it open, the order's leader say.

The Jesuit Urban Center in the city's South End will close at the end of July, said the Rev. Thomas Regan, the superior of the New England Jesuits.

The sexual orientation of many in the congregation did not play a role in the decision, and there was no pressure from the Vatican or the Boston Archdiocese to shutter the church, Regan said.

The Roman Catholic religious order has become financially reliant on salaries paid to members who teach at Boston College, College of the Holy Cross, and Fairfield University -- all Jesuit schools -- but as they retire or die, the order is being forced to cut back on its activities, he said.

About one-third of the order's 342 priests in New England are retired.

"A lot of people are still in the church because of the Jesuits," Regan said. "We do not want to abandon these people. But there's a spirit among this group, and I think that's going to be lost, and that's very sad."

Worshippers informed of the planned closing after Mass on Sunday reacted with disappointment and anger.

"I, and my friends, while not surprised, were saddened," said Dr. Juan Jaime de Zengotita. "This comes after a few years of rough times for gay Catholics, with Vatican and local Episcopal declarations that have not been so friendly. I don't know what will be the future of gay ministry."

The Jesuit Urban Center costs the order about $350,000 a year to support, and its only significant remaining activity is a weekly Mass attended by 150 to 200 people who generate weekly collections of about $2,400, Regan said. The building, the Church of the Immaculate Conception, was dedicated in 1861 and needs $4 million to $8 million in renovations, he said.

Jesuits would continue to welcome gays and lesbians to worship at St. Ignatius of Loyola, the parish they oversee adjacent to Boston College on the Brighton-Newton line, Regan said.

Regan noted there are two other downtown congregations that have been reaching out to gay Catholics -- the Paulist Center on Beacon Hill and St. Anthony Shrine, operated by the Franciscans, near Downtown Crossing.

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Information from: The Boston Globe, http://www.boston.com/globe

Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.