Splinter church?

Every morning since September, the morning news carries updates on the vigils held by a number of Catholic parishes around the state. The Boston Diocese has targeted a number of churches for closure. The Church plans to sell off the physical buildings and real estate to recoup some of the losses supposedly related to the child-abuse lawsuits they’ve been hit with the past few years. People in the various parishes have staked their ground in the churches and refuse to leave, preventing the Diocese from changing locks on the doors and proceeding with divestiture.

There is a lot of support for these people holding their vigils, from across the spectrum. Taking away someone’s church and community because the Church did something bad doesn’t really sit well with most people. So we’ve been following along with interest and support. And the Church has held back. Though the Diocese is now starting to take a harder line—in talk, at least—there are still no immediate plans to storm the churches and force people out. So the vigils continue around the clock.

In the past couple of weeks, I’ve noticed a change in the morning interviews and in the tone of the reporting. At first the vigils were covered as a protest event. Now...well, now they’re taking on a different flavor. The parishes have lived together, literally, for two months now—eating together, plotting together, praying together, sleeping communally...kids, moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, cousins, and priests. They’ve grown together, bonded in a new way, and I get the impression that they don’t want to lose that now. Through adversity, they’ve discovered something new—they don’t need the Catholic Church.

What I wonder now is how far this new discovery will take them. And what they’ll do about it. If they’ll do anything about it. Is there now a possibility that they will leave the Diocese and strike off on their own? Can they do that and still call themselves Catholic? I don’t know. But that’s where it seems like it’s heading for many of these people. I wonder if this marks the beginning of the end for the Vatican ruled Catholic Church in America.