[WilliamJenningsBryan]

Praise Jesus, the cathylicks are finally selling off their depraved churches - and let us hope there will be more, mosques come to mind, as well as other false religions like the scientologists.

Condos, Dollar Tree stores, hockey rinks - and bowling alleys come to mind as well. We all must be vigilant, and make sure that drag queen theaters, homer night clubs and bath houses, and lezbean community centers get the thumbs down when it comes to passing zoning laws with our local city councils.

When it comes to the cathylicks, bear in mind that the properties may be infested with rectal demons - and no one wants to buy a condo with these around. Developers should make sure that a certified Landover Baptist True Christian™ Pastor has sanctified the land and remaining buildings before purchasing any of these distressed properties.

Closed churches become condos, Dollar Tree, hockey rinks
By Meghan Ottolini - Boston Herald
PUBLISHED: November 28, 2019 at 4:52 pm | UPDATED: January 16, 2020 at 2:46 pm

CHARLESTOWN, MA. – NOVEMBER 26: A former church, now a Dollar Tree store at 45 Vine Street on November 26, 2019 in Charlestown, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)

The almighty dollar has transformed former churches around Greater Boston into everything from condos to a Dollar Tree store.

The Archdiocese of Boston has closed more than 70 former houses of worship since 2004, and in that time, buyers have moved in. But it’s a transformation that’s come with a lot of criticism.

“If you stand back and take a broad view, here you have one of the strongest Catholic dioceses in the United States, created back in the 1800s when America was still very new. It is in full retreat,” said Peter Borre, chairman of the Boston-based Council of Parishes, a lay group that battles Catholic parish closures.

On Vine Street in Charlestown, the large brick church that once housed St. Catherine’s of Siena now operates as a Dollar Tree. A bright green banner and enclosed entrance have been tacked onto the structure just below its enormous stained glass window and bell tower.

“It looks kind of ugly,” said Charlestown resident William Senuta. “It’s sad. It’s just sad, because things change. Less people are going to church.”

The archdiocese has sold off many other historic churches to developers looking for prime property to build swanky, high-end condos.

In Bay Village, Our Lady of Victories Church and rectory were sold for $11.4 million in 2017, records show. The building, now coined “The Marc,” has three-bedroom condos listed for $3.47 million apiece. A two-bedroom goes for $2.3 million.

“Who could afford that? How many people are millionaires?” asked Ann DiFeo, a former parishioner at East Boston’s Our Lady of Mount Carmel, which was sold to developers in 2015 for $3 million. Developers Franklin Grove LLC are now awaiting approval to convert the 114-year-old building into 108 condominiums. Of those units, 14 have been designated as affordable housing.

DiFeo, 77, protested Mt. Carmel’s closing for years, sleeping in the church on an air mattress. Baptized and married at Mount Carmel, the East Boston native also attended funeral Masses for her two late sons at the church.

“It was a sin that they closed it,” DiFeo said. “The archdiocese sold us out.”

According to the archdiocese, 281 parishes remain in the Greater Boston area. During a reconfiguration in 2004, 74 churches closed. Nine additional parishes have since shuttered. The church also created 13 new parishes, and merged 11.

“We wouldn’t sell to a Planned Parenthood, or something that runs contrary to the church,” said archdiocese spokesperson Terrence Donilon. “But once the building’s sold, it’s really up to the owner what’s done with it.”

In an email to the Herald, Donilon stated that “proceeds from sale of parish property has not been used for abuse claims.”

Catholics like Kevin Flanagan of South Boston expressed frustration at the new uses for churches. Flanagan was a longtime parishioner at St. Augustine’s, which closed in 2004 and now serves as condos.

“That’s just an apartment complex now,” Flanagan said. “That’s not bringing anything to the neighborhood. They had food pantries, AA meetings, all different things going on.”

In several instances, sales result in total demolition of churches. The archdiocese sold St. James the Great to the town of Wellesley in 2012 for $3.8 million, and developers razed the building completely. In its place is a 130,000-square-foot sports complex that houses two ice rinks, two swimming pools, four turf fields, and the Cheesy Street Grill.

The transformations aren’t unique to the Archdiocese of Boston — houses of worship from other denominations have also gone up for sale across the city. After Concord Baptist Church moved out of its historic South End building in 2011, developers converted it into $1.9 million condos.

But for the Catholic Church, the trend may be continuing.

“It’s a shadow of its former self,” Borre said. “That’s the Boston story. When a fine parish like St. Catherine’s becomes a Dollar Tree, that’s the story in itself.”

. . . .

https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/11...-hockey-rinks/