Community Corner
St. James to Reopen
The prayers of hundreds hoping to save St. James have been answered.
Prayers have been answered for hundreds hoping to save the in Lakewood.
The shuttered church on Detroit Avenue is set to open its doors again after reversed his 2010 decision to close 12 parishes in Northeast Ohio.
“It’s time to have peace and unity in the diocese of Cleveland,” Lennon announced in a press conference Tuesday morning. "We need to continue to grow as a true Catholic community."
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According to a decree sent from Rome, and received March 8, the Cleveland Diocese failed to follow proper procedure. The decree noted that under canon law, Lennon should have consulted the Presbyteral Council before closing the parish.
“I will not appeal the decrees,” Lennon said in a press conference on Tuesday. “Staffing will be a significant challenge. We will be forced to spread clerical workers thinner.”
Find out what's happening in Lakewoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
He also said sacred objects will be returned to St. James and the rest of the parishes.
Lennon didn't specify who would lead the church — or the others — but said it could be a couple months before the church actually opens.
“It could be,” he said. “I didn’t say it will be. We’re not trying to dilly-dally.”
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