Interesting article.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/colum...abilities.html

That makes me mad. Even the church puts money in front of the needs of the people. Greed is everywhere.

Thanks for getting the word out.

's

Amen, Beth. So true (and so sad, too).

some churches scare me.

The Diocese and churches are like any other business. Financially, they need to make a decision and combining the parish rectory's was the best decision for them.

The article does say "The diocese won't make a final decision before an independent council examines the facilities' accessibility." Therefore, they ARE taking his interests in to consideration before making a decision. The title of the article is misleading as he is not be evicted, he is possibly being moved.

Moving around for priests is not uncommon depending on the religious order they choose to join. They move kind of like those in the military. LOL. They go where they are needed.

I know of a priest in NM who loves where he is outside of the reservation. It is an extremely poor community. Right here in our own country, these people do not have electricity, indoor plumbing, floors - they are dirt floors, cars, etc. They live as if they were in a third world country. This priest himself lives in very bare yet humble conditions. But he is happiest this way and does so much for those in his parish.

On a personal side, this particular priest is a friend of my dads. He will be taken care of by both the Diocese as well as his religious order.

Many and most Diocese as well as religious orders have places for priests and nuns who are elderly and/or disabled. The most wonderful priest I have ever met in my life has Parkinson's. When he retired he moved in to a community where the Diocese had purchased a bunch of little houses (Casitas) specifically for those that retire and/or are disabled. It is a great community.

EDIT: BTW - If you ever want to know more about the conditions of these people in NM let me know. It would shock you. DDs and I as well as my parents donate quite often. My dad does a lot of work with the people in this community and has fallen in love with them.

Hi T! Yes they are like other businesses, except they are exempt from Title III of the ADA which stinks because regardless of how much money a religious entity has at it's disposal, it isn't required to be handicapped accessible . Very sad when an organization with a lot of funds can choose to be this callous. JMHO.

Very true. I worked for a hospital that was affiliated with a religion. They did some things that were so unethical. Sometimes they got their hand slapped, sometimes not. Only those drs, nurses, and other employees that could afford a lawsuit pursued and usually won. I know of several that did. It was so sad that they could treat people this way. They did some very underhanded things.

Seems there is a lot bigger story to this then just the handicapped accessibility:

"The facilities at St. Vincent - which has nearly triple the Sunday attendance - are roughly twice the size of St. Aloysius', with room to grow, members say.

Thanks to a recently completed $1.1 million capital campaign, St. Vincent has a new boiler and roof and, just four weeks ago, dedicated a combined parish hall, rectory and chapel. The money for the buildings came from parishioners.

Through a foundation established in memory of his daughter, Joan "Babe" Canuso Fischer, Canuso and his wife, Joan, donated about $400,000 to the St. Vincent building fund. The cavernous new parish hall, with wooden ceilings, large windows, and room for parties, is named for Babe, who died in 2005 at age 40.

"This is Babe's legacy, and I have to keep that alive," said Canuso, a developer who lives in Haddonfield.

... its buildings will become the property of the newly created parish and can be sold or put to another purpose when the merger is completed within two years."

"If people gave in good conscience for these buildings, it's about them being able to use these buildings for the reasons they gave," he said. "I think changing that violates an ethical responsibility."

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news.../18308394.html

However:

"St. Aloysius has ramps, but parts of the church remain inaccessible, they say."

I think the worst part is that they took money from people, fixed it up, and now are going to sell it for a profit. Fancy that.

Cherie