Boston, Mass., Jul 21, 2005 / 22:00 pm
Members of Boston’s City Council are seeking to pass a measure which would bring the accountability of the Archdiocese of Boston, particularly in light of the priestly abuse scandal, before public vote in November--an act which New York’s Catholic League is calling a blatant violation of the separation of church and state.
The campaign is being led by three council members in particular and if the motion is passed, voters on November 8th of next year will be asked if they “agree, to date, the Archdiocese of Boston has failed to work effectively with Boston’s neighborhoods to mitigate the impacts of Catholic parish and school closings on neighborhood services…”
It would also ask if citizens agree “that in the future the Archdiocese of Boston should be strongly urged to meet its institutional obligations to all of Boston’s citizens, to neighbors, and to the city’s agencies by cooperating before-the-fact, diligently and in good faith, for the difficult transitions?”
William Donahue, president of the Catholic League said yesterday that, “This is sheer, unadulterated demagoguery”, and that, “We will contact the other members of the city council to shoot down this preposterous measure.”