As city officials mull a new law to protect Catholic churches that are scheduled to be closed, officials in suburban Lakewood, Ohio, may also try to keep church leaders from razing or gutting a threatened parish.
The Diocese of Cleveland, which has ordered Lakewood’s St. James Catholic Church and dozens of other churches closed by next summer as part of a downsizing plan, is not saying what it will do with St. James’ building once it’s locked up.
But the proposed ordinance by the Lakewood City Council, which would protect any structure that the city designated a historical or cultural landmark, could draw a constitutional battle over private property rights and separation of church and state.
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Suburb Joins Cleveland Fight to Protect Shuttered Churches
As city officials mull a new law to protect Catholic churches that are scheduled to be closed, officials in suburban Lakewood, Ohio, may also try to keep church leaders from razing or gutting a threatened parish.
The Diocese of Cleveland, which has ordered Lakewood’s St. James Catholic Church and dozens of other churches closed by next summer as part of a downsizing plan, is not saying what it will do with St. James’ building once it’s locked up.
But the proposed ordinance by the Lakewood City Council, which would protect any structure that the city designated a historical or cultural landmark, could draw a constitutional battle over private property rights and separation of church and state.
Read it all.