"We are very happy, the church is happy," parish priest, Father Chris Friel said.

"There will be a farewell liturgy, a gathering and mass to say goodbye in the near future.

"No date has been arranged for that as yet." Read more

The Kerela High Court dismissed an appeal by Cardinal George Alencherry seeking exemption from appearing in a district court.

The decision means the head of Eastern rite Syro-Malabar Church will have to personally appear in a court in Ernakulam district in connection with the criminal cases pending against him.

Cardinal Alencherry had pleaded that the presence of his legal counsel be treated as his presence in court as he is "a senior citizen aged 77 years and the head of the Syro-Malabar Church" with duties like "performing religious ceremonies, rituals, including the ordination of bishops, priests, the consecration of churches" among other things.

Justice Ziyad Rahman dismissed the cardinal's pleas as "untenable" as the offences alleged against him were serious and "punishable with imprisonment for seven years or more".

The judge further observed that if the cardinal admittedly attends meetings across the globe, including in Rome, then he is not under any physical difficulty that could prevent him from appearing in court, which is barely three kilometres from his official residence.

The prelate is facing 14 criminal cases in connection with the dubious land deals executed in the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese since his appointment as its head in May 2011.

Those accusing him of alleged corruption in the sale of Church lands claim a loss of US$10 million to the archdiocese.

A church official, who did not want to be named, told UCA News: "A Catholic bishop does not sell diocesan properties in his individual capacity. He only follows the advice of his council of priests and others empowered to do so."

These allegations forced the Vatican to curtail Cardinal Alencherry's administrative powers and an apostolic administrator in June 2018.

Hundreds of Catholics in Ernakulam-Angamaly staged a torchlight protest in front of the Archbishop's House, demanding the prelate's resignation as the Major Archbishop in wake of the court order.

The protestors said the prelate had brought shame to the entire Syro-Malabar Church and the Christian community in India.

Sources

• UCA News
• CathNews New Zealand

The parish's finance committee chairman Peter Hughes said the 55-year-old building on a 1793 square metre section and a neighbouring 2583 sq m section were "surplus to requirements" and would be auctioned on November 26. Read more

Since then, consultations have taken place between the cardinal and the Riversdale Beach Charitable Trust about the church's status.

According to Trustee Neil Prichard, a sale was unlikely to happen. He said Dew's June statement reflected a misunderstanding about the 2017 memorandum of understanding between the trust and the Archdiocese.

Another trustee, Brian McGuinness, wrote to Dew to explain the status quo.

Dew responded, saying as the parish owned the property, it must be part of the property review. Still, discussions between the trust and the parish needed to take place.

As reported in the Wairarapa Times-Age, Dew said, "I would like the parish to discuss the future of the church with the trust and whether it should remain the parish's ownership, or whether perhaps it would be better owned by the trust."

"In those discussions, it is essential that the parish's capacity to provide masses at Riversdale is taken into account. I am happy to abide by those discussions, but they need to take place."

St Joseph's Catholic church was built in nearby Tinui in 1881. The building was relocated to serve Riversdale Beach 100 years later. Heritage New Zealand has recently listed St Joseph's as a Category 2 Historic Place.

In recent years the building had been refurbished, and the property had been successfully managed. The funds required to do this had come from substantial community donations of labour, materials, and cash.

"The main point is, whether owned by the parish or the trust in the future, it seems clear that St Joseph's will remain under the management of the trust and continue to be available for religious purposes to the Riversdale Beach community for the foreseeable future," Prichard said.

Sources

Wairarapa Times Age

Churches have been exempt from paying property tax for centuries.

"The civil authorities have always recognised and respected the great contribution of the Christian churches, which invest billions in building schools, hospitals, and homes, many for the elderly and disadvantaged in the Holy Land," a statement from church leaders says.

They have asked city officials to retract their intention to tax church properties.

They want them to "ensure that the status quo, which was sanctioned by the sacred history, is maintained and the character of the Holy City of Jerusalem is not violated."

The church leaders believe the taxes would damage a number of benefits Christian churches offer Jerusalem as well as its ability to minister to its communities both in Jerusalem and internationally.

Early this month the Jerusalem municipality issued fines of nearly $190 million to properties owned by the United Nations and churches.

The municipality cited a new legal opinion that found the properties are not legally defined as places of worship.

It has exempted properties that are used "for prayer, for the teaching of religion or for needs arising from that."

Other church properties must pay property tax.

The Catholic church received the biggest bill of all the religious institutions.

It owes over $3.3 million.

Source

• The Catholic Spirit
• Sight Magazine
• Image: Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation

The Church of the Ascension in Point Chevalier, which closed for worship in July, was put on the market earlier this month.

The 2004sqm Dignan St section has three buildings including the church, a vicarage and church hall. Continue reading

The Diocese has owned the site since 1999 when it purchased a 22.245ha farm.

The General manager of the Diocese, Kerry Coleman, said the land was purchased with the long term strategy of accommodating future Catholic primary and secondary schools and a parish centre.

Stella Maris Catholic School was opened in 2009 and has a maximum roll of 400 students and a further 9.8ha of land has been set aside for the construction of a Catholic secondary school as well as the parish centre. Coleman said that with urban development in Silverdale and infrastructure put in place, this commercially zoned part of the property was deemed surplus to requirements and hence was up for sale.

Daryl Devereux of Bayleys North Shore Commercial says "The land for tender is a very strong location, having triple road frontage and sharing a street front connection with the Silverdale Centre, a large shopping complex fully leased to 36 separate retailers,"

Source

• The New Zealand Herald

The Vatican-Israeli accord, under negotiation since 1993, is intended to establish the juridical rights of the Catholic Church in Israel.

The agreement also covers the issue of expropriating Church property for infrastructure purposes, with a reported list of five sites — including the Mount of Beatitudes, Capernaum and the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth — where expropriation would not be allowed except for public safety in situations of emergency.

Continue reading

In cities, that means the ability to sell presbyteries that are currently housing one priest and having him — and possibly another nearby parish priest — move into a four- or five-bedroom presbytery that used to house a parish priest and a couple of curates. It means selling churches that can be sold if there's another parish two kilometres down the road, which is the case in some New Zealand cities.

Catholic schools have largely been growing in recent years, especially primary schools, while some secondary colleges have been merged in recent decades. For whatever reason, a Dunedin school had become surplus to requirements and the decision was made to sell it. Regardless of how much money was generated from the sale, it will be put to better use than paying insurance and rates on an unused building. Read more

Sources

• Gavin Abraham in The Catholic Soapbox
• Image: Zoodle Property

Gavin Abraham, a journalist for more than a dozen years, has spent most of the last six years working in Catholic media.