Followup: Allerton, Bywater (UK)

From Damian Thompson a follow up to THIS:

[Archbishop] Arthur Roche gets his way at last: the little church at Allerton Bywater closes its doors

You may remember the tremendous fuss – not to say anguish and heartbreak – over the forced closure last year of a number of parishes in the Pontefract deanery of Leeds diocese. Well, the priest of one of those churches, Fr Mark Lawler at Allerton Bywater, decided to keep saying Mass (in both the Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms) pending an appeal from Rome. That appeal has now been lost – as expected: the Vatican gives bishops sweeping powers to shut churches, even thriving and happy churches like this one. A parishioner emailed me the news this morning:

    The church has been having daily Mass ever since we were last in contact, whilst waiting for the result of its appeal from Rome. Well, the church closed its doors for the last time yesterday after Mass. The Congregation for Clergy has found against us and we have now exhausted the practical possibilities for appeal. So, as we always said, right from the start, we have obeyed this ruling … The result of the bishop’s actions is that a vibrant parish has been destroyed.

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