The crisis of Holy Trinity in Boston

Readers of this blog may recall that we have followed with some interest the developments involving the historic German parish of Holy Trinity in South Boston. (See our posts Boston's Indult: An Expensive Move [Musings, April 13, 2007] and Old Mass to return to Boston's Holy Trinity [Musings, December 19, 2007], for two examples.)

James Likoudis comments on the latest (and possibly last) development in his article, "A Month After Pope's Visit . . .Cardinal O'Malley Closes German Parish" (Free Republic, June 13, 2008, from Wanderer Press, June 5, 2008). Here are some excerpts:

One month after Pope Benedict XVI made his historic visit to the United States, Sean Cardinal O’Malley ordered the closure of Boston’s oldest German parish, Holy Trinity, and declared all its assets — including $ 242,000 in its bank account — be transferred to Holy Cross Cathedral.

The priests and parishioners of Holy Trinity Church, established by German immigrants in 1844, opened the first parochial school in New England and introduced the Christmas tree and Christmas cards to Puritan Boston, among many other traditions.

Since 1990, the parish has been home for the Traditional Latin Mass community from 1990 to 2007, when the Traditional Latin Mass was relocated to Mary Immaculate of Lourdes Parish in Newton. Following Pope Benedict XVI’s motu proprio, parishioners of Holy Trinity successfully petitioned the pastor administrator, Fr. John J. Connolly, for the Latin Mass. Since January 2008, when the Latin Mass was restored, the congregation at Holy Trinity has tripled, despite a standing-room-only congregation at Mary Immaculate of Lourdes, said C. Joseph Doyle, a member of the Latin Mass Community at Holy Trinity, and executive director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts.

For four years, Cardinal O’Malley has been intent on closing Holy Trinity ....

... "The whole so-called reconfiguration process,” Doyle told The Wanderer, “is insane. Venerable churches of great historical significance and architectural and artistic distinction are being destroyed, while churches of no historical or aesthetic value are being preserved. Orthodox congregations are being dispossessed, while parishes that are hotbeds of dissent remain open.”

If you have a stomach for depressing news, read on in the original article. There is plenty more from the rapid decomposition of historic Catholic culture in Boston.

[Hat tip to R.Q.]