Mount Pearl’s two Catholic churches are now at the center of lobbying over which one should be saved – and with the city’s church leaders deadlocked, the decision rests largely with Archbishop Peter Hund.
Mary Queen of the World Church on Topsail Road, where parishioners have practiced their faith for about four decades, is the future for Catholics in Mount Pearl?
Or is it St. Peter’s on Ashford Drive, which is newer and bigger?
These are very emotional questions coming at a time of great upheaval for churchgoers in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John.
St. Peter’s Parish was founded in the fall of 1982 and the first Sunday service was held in July 2001. (Terry Roberts/CBC)
Catholic properties in the St John area are being sold off as the archdiocese seeks to compensate victims of Mount Cashel violence.
Committees associated with the two Mt. Pearl churches submitted bids to court-appointed bankruptcy monitor Ernst & Young, but CBC News has learned that both bids, deemed too low, were rejected. And there do not appear to have been any other suitable bids from non-church bidders.
Now a big decision must be made: pool the combined resources of the two parishes and submit a new, more substantial offer for one of the two churches.
But here’s the problem.
Mary Queen of the World Church on Topsail Road in Mount Pearl was completed in 1984. (Terry Roberts/CBC)
A 10-member steering committee leads the effort to define the way forward for Catholics at Mount Pearl, including five members from St. Peter’s and five from Mary, Queen of the World.
Not surprisingly, they are at an impasse and can’t decide which church to keep as a place of worship.
The only thing they seem to agree on is that the only viable path is one church. This is because congregations are shrinking and raising the money needed for a mortgage to buy one of the churches is more realistic with a single, united parish.
This is a divisive issue and no one is speaking on the record.
CBC News has learned that a meeting is planned for Thursday morning, where representatives of the two parishes will discuss with the archbishop why their church should be saved.
The meeting was supposed to take place at 9 a.m. in the archbishop’s office, but did not go according to schedule.
It is not known if the meeting has been rescheduled.
Peter Hund is Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John. (Paula Gale/CBC)
The only thing that is known for sure is that the church’s footprint at Mount Pearl will soon shrink significantly.
“Every country doesn’t want to lose its church,” said one longtime member of St. Peter’s. CBC withholds their name. “Everybody believes his is the right church.”
The parishioner said “no one wants change,” but there seems to be agreement that it is no longer viable to maintain two churches in Mount Pearl.
Hundt has declined interviews throughout the bankruptcy process, but he will have to make a decision — a tough decision — very soon.
Total claims have not yet been finalized but are expected to be in the $50 million range.
Lawyers for the victims want the sale process to continue, and a High Court judge is expected to sign off on a number of sales, including the basilica, next week.
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