Archbishop O’Malley defends church closures at confirmation ceremony

Boston, Mass., Jun 13, 2004 / 22:00 pm

Archbishop Sean P. O’Malley confirmed 22 teenagers at a two-hour mass at St. James church in Stoughton Saturday. The event was bittersweet since St. James is one of 65 parishes in the Archdiocese of Boston, set to close by December.

In his 35-minute homily, mostly directed to the confirmands, the archbishop urged parishioners to avoid the "voices" that are calling people "away from God," reported the Boston Globe.

He referred to MTV and its content that promotes hedonism, promiscuity, and individualism.

He also made reference to the upcoming church closures, stressing the importance of parishioners to think and act selflessly and in harmony with the Church community at this time, reported the Globe.

Fr. John Kelly, who oversaw the confirmation ceremony, said an appeal is under way to ask the archbishop to reconsider his decision to close St. James, which is celebrating its 40^th anniversary and has about 300 active families.

Fr. Kelly told the Globe that parishioners are very upset and that the appeal would highlight some facts, which the archbishop may not have known when he made the decision to close the parish.