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Vatican steps in to church row
4:42pm Tuesday 20th May 2008
THE FUTURE of a landmark Wirral church has been raised at Vatican City.
Campaigners are worried that the Catholic diocese of Shrewsbury intends to demolish Ss Peter and Paul in New Brighton and sell its prime hilltop site overlooking Liverpool Bay to developers.
Earlier this week campaign group SOUL - Save Our Unique Landmark - were claiming victory after receiving a letter from the Vatican confirming there were "no current plans" to close the church.
Wallasey councillor and SOUL member Cllr Paul Hayes said: "This is fantastic news. The Vatican's intervention is very welcome indeed.
"I'm delighted that a building which has played such a huge role in Wirral's cultural and religious heritage will keep its doors open to the faithful of Wallasey and New Brighton.
"We will now be looking to the diocese to allow its parishioners to access its own funds for building repair work so that the parish will be provided with proper social facilities.
"I hope this action by the Holy See means we can now work constructively with the diocese to ensure the future of Ss Peter and Paul as a magnificent, awe-inspiring place of worship."
But the Globe understands that the wording of the letter from Vatican undersecretary Monsignor Giovanni Carru is largely ambiguous - and as such, the possibility of closing the church remains real and still very much on the "consultation" table.
Rev John Joyce, who acts as spokesman for Brian Noble, the Bishop of Shrewsbury, said: "The under-standing of the words no current plans', in the context of Roman correspondence, are canonical, and as such simply acknowledge the present position.
"That is, the Bishop has not issued a decree - a canonical requirement - to close the church, and until that is issued, no current plans' describes the situation. No decree has been issued because the diocese continues its negotiation and deliberations over the future of the church."
Your Say Your Globe
Lorentz, London says...
9:57am Wed 21 May 08
Lorentz, London says...
10:01am Wed 21 May 08
stevenblackpool, Wirral says...
11:56pm Wed 21 May 08
King Tut, On the way to Shrewsbury says...
7:55am Thu 22 May 08
ran ger, birkenhead says...
10:36am Thu 22 May 08
King Tut, Looking from Ss Peter & Pauls to St Saviours says...
2:53pm Thu 22 May 08
ran ger wrote:And your point is?
thank god I am Church of England and this building means nothing to me except its a land mark you can see from the tower of Saint Saviours in Oxton
stevenblackpool, Wirral says...
6:36pm Thu 22 May 08
King Tut - the problem is that the parents also went to schools which failed to pass on the faith to them.
Ranger - there is only one Christ and one faith, and the Church of England has the same problem - empty churches - for the same reason.
Schools teach children to be good consumers - that is to worship money. That is why they don't worship God, and that is why the churches are empty while the schools are oversubscribed.
Charles Darwin, Anywhere in the world says...
11:39pm Fri 23 May 08
The problem with SS Peter and Pauls is there is no pub next door as with most Catholic churches. Loads of pubs are closing down so it would be inpractical to build one now.
The worst thing you can do is start bringing religion in to it, especially the Catholic one. I knew catholic kids from my childhood who were scarred for life by the priests and those alleged females known as nuns. We being none practising C.of.E used to laugh but they took it very seriously indeed.
The bishop of Shrewsbury lives or did live in Eleanor road Bidston in a lovely big mansion waited on by nuns. No money the churches claim, except for big houses with servants for the top knobs.
Religion smeligion as the Hebrews might say!
Bas Hanrahan, Trowbridge,Wiltshire says...
11:52am Sat 24 May 08
Another point I would like to raise is that these churches "belong" to the people who paid to get them built ,handing over upkeep to Trustees, to ensure continuation and upkeep through proper and timely maintenance...which they have in a large number of cases failed to do ! Money seems to be the driving force for Society and Diocese alike , balance the books ,keep them in a fat healthy black.Close the poorer parish churches ,such as Holy Cross and St Laurence's ,because there aren't enough priests/congregation and sell off the "property" to maintain a fat black bottom line .
For Charles Darwin info :Bishop now lives in Barnston ,possibly due to Eleanor Road being too close to the Ford(Bechwood) estate...a poor part of the town,too close to reality for a middle class Bishop !
My point is that the Church has lost sight of its Mission ,the priesthood seems to be drawn from those who see it as a cushy job , not a sacrificial vocation ,to serve the needs of the "flock" at the expense of self and self-needs...they are a creeping minority but seems to have a disproportionate influence in Church matters.. It's just another business to be in .
To clarify ,I am a practising Catholic and pray that all the unfortunate events of the last few years might be overturned ..especially the closure of Holy Cross ,my "Alma Mater " parish. But that is being selfish...isn't it ????
stevenblackpool, The last piece of the polar ice caps says...
1:09pm Mon 26 May 08
Objecting to religion in church is a bit like complaining about bringing beer into a pub.
I suppose what Charles is trying to say is that we should be able to choose our own religion, just like our beer, and refuse admission to people who don't share our own tastes.
Very consumerist, and in evolutionary terms, quite apt, but it is our capacity for coping with dysfunctionality that makes us human, not our spending power.
Consumerism, or "survival of the richest" is destructive.
The humans will be the ones who opted out of the evolutionary struggle for wealth and power.
Magellan, London says...
11:52am Fri 30 May 08
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HOLY ROW: Leah Fraser, Cllr Paul Hayes and campaigner Catherine Nelson outside Ss Peter & Paul Church in New Brighton
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King Tut, Standing outside the church looking at the rotting window frames after years of deliberate neglect by the Bishop says...
7:51am Wed 21 May 08