New Orleans police clear parish vigils

And they wonder why the number of parishners are dropping dramatically....

No surprise here.
The tactics do mirror the character of the organization's leaders.

What a bunch of thugs
But then again, Hughes was a notorious protector of child rapists when he was in Boston.
Moral degenerates

Gee, when white Catholics in Boston take over churches, the church waits them out for more than four years, but when black Catholics in New Orleans do the same, the police and city attorney are called and the parishioners are arrested and hauled off to jail. Hmmm.

Archbishop Hughes wears pants while Cardinal Sean wears a skirt...hmm. One had the courage to say that HE speaks for the diocese while the other plans to wait until the old folks occupying the church buildings die of natural causes; one is a leader enforcing his decisions while the other silently presides over an archdiocese that is populated by semi-religious "cafeteria Catholics".

I'll take Hughes over O'Malley any day.

Actually, the chuches that were closed in New Orleans were both historically white.
The black church, St. Augustine, which was scheduled to be closed immediately after Katrina, is still opened. This is not a race issue. It is a very sad one. Hughes is not a native of New Orleans; has no history or love of the place; doesn't understand it. If you'd like to see what was done, view the video http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/01/police_evict_parishioners_from.html

Archbishop Hughes is a disgrace. He has done nothing but damage the Catholic community in New Orleans. Boston, PLEASE take him back, PLEASE. He is all about the money he can get for the property these churches are built on. These were viable churchs with lots of money in their accounts. He should be ashamed (but he is not)

In your photo, the parishioner's name is Harold Baquet, a beloved member of the Good Counsel community. His group, the Friends of Our Lady of Good Counsel, can be reached at ourladygoodcounsel@gmail.com. Let's remember that in his Boston days, Archbishop Hughes was not on such comfortable terms with law enforcement as he seems to be in New Orleans. The Massachusetts attorney general, in a 2003 report, described Hughes's behavior during the criminal investigation of a Boston priest in the early 1990s as "egregious." Hughes withheld crucial information from investigators and authorized tens of thousands of archdiocesan "loans" to pay for Rev. John Hanlon's defense. No thanks to Hughes, Hanlon was ultimately convicted and sentenced to life in prison for his crimes. See the Reilly report: http://www.bishop-accountability.org/resources/resource-files/reports/ReillyReport.pdf at PDF pp. 41-44 and 62-62.

The churches belong to the people. They have payed plenty over the years to support the arch villans I mean the archdioces. They should not be allowed to sell churches to pay restitution for the peverts they chose to hire and protect. The resitution should come from the individuals who were in charge of the church and not from the sale of it's properties. If there is no money, then the victims should get no money. The parishoners should not have to pay for the criminal acts of the archdioces. And to the victims- get over it and start taking responsibiltiy for your life because the rest of us ae not going to.

How does being a victim of clergy abuse mean that you haven't taken responsibility for your life, exmassres? That makes no sense. The churches belong to the organization that built them. If you donate money to a charity, that doesn't give you a stake in that charity's property. If I make a donation to Goodwill, I can't say that I own their buildings. No different with churches, for better or worse. You can be mad at what they do with the resources you gave them, but you can't honestly claim a legal ownership of the properties.

ALL of you have wonderful opinions; here's mine, leave the Catholic Church alone, when people trespass, they are usually forced off the property by the landowner. Here, there has never been any doubt (except in the minds of liberal clowns like yourselves) that the Church owns the property, and not a bunch of people who don't even support the Church with the funds necessary to keep it running.

As far as the closings in general, trim the deadwood, and hopefully the others will prosper.

Yes, Chris, trim the deadwood, by all means, but if the wood isn't dead....
These churches were viable and financially sound, as church go. And yes, the Church does own the property, BUT this is a social issue; one that connects the heart and soul. My ancestors helped build Our Lady of Good Counsel. They were baptized, married and buried from there. What of history? Is that not something that should be cherished or is it to be thrown away? This is not a liberal/conservative, black/white issue. It is one of people's hopes and dreams and sacrifice to build a community in which they wish to live.

Time out here, folks. Archbishop Hughes is widely respected and liked in NOLA. He was a remarkable strength and presence post-Katrina when elected officials were an embarrassment. This blog entry reflects a little Boston bias, I suspect. The full article in the Times Picayune has a superior and more objective coverage. http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-12/1231309433208240.xml&coll=1 People in NOLA know what loss and sacrifice amounts to. These churches are stone's throw from other churches that are far more sustainable. These occupations have been a disservice to those who understand what sustainable really means, and have quietly accepted these outcomes because they were unavoidable. Churches weren't meant to serve as re3sidences, and they sure weren't meant to serve those who would disrespect them.

The number of people attending Mass is less than half the number of a generation ago... the costs of healthcare for priests and employees continue to rise... the number of priests who are retiring each year far outweighs the number of priests being ordained... so what is a diocese supposed to do? How else can they streamline their operations and be more efficient except by closing some parishes and institutions? It's sad to see a parish close - it's like selling a long-time family home... but what other options are there?

REALLY CANīT UNDERSTAND THE HOSTILITY OF THE PEOPLE OF BOSTON AGAINST THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHATīS GOING ON AND ARE ALWAYS READY TO ATTACK THE CHURCH. THEY SHOULD LOOK AT THEIR OWN LIVES AND BEGIN HUMAN REPAIR THERE BEFORE THEY GET INTO THINGS THEY HAVE NO IDEA OF. STUDY THE HISTORY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND YOU WILL SEE WHERE WE ARE COMING FROM.

Dear people of Boston,

Will you please take archbishop houghes back. He doesnt understand our city and is closing self sustaining churches that have been open for over a hundred years. We have no problem in combing parishes that are geographically close together, but lets not close our chuches. He is killing the church in this city.

As a child I was baptized, recieved first Communion and went through the first Pennance ritual. I was never confirmed. Into adulthood I still enjoyed attending Mass. However after the clergy sex abuse scandal broke everything changed. I began to view Catholicism as Vatican Incorportated. I was never sufficiently apologized to for my former Church leaders covering up decades (centuries really) of the rape of children. I also began to view the priesthood as a sanctuary for pedophiles. The nuns undoubtably knew what was going on and they did nothing either. May Catholicism and all religion fail globally.

And this is why many are leaving and turning to Episcopal or other Protestant churches....the irony is that these buildings were created from the sweat and toil of its parishioners, not by the Vatican elite. it's a shame that those who are traditionalists have felt so deceived and are no longer believers or seekers of spiritual communities....Note to other Catholics: Own the title to your church building and do not donate your labor and hard work to the Church but rather to yourselves and your immediate community.

Hi ry from the merrimack valley. I ditto your comments. At my age now, I view all that I cherished as 'what a joke on all that was fostered' when we were children'. I have lost any communication about faith with my friends who continue to hang on and I am deeply wounded. At this juncture, I am wary of any institutional church so I go no where. I loved the rituals, music and solace that the CC promoted. However, after the scandals and revelations about the clergy it all became rather ugly.

ryfromthemerrimackvalley says: The nuns undoubtably knew what was going on and they did nothing either.
And I assume you can prove this ridiculous accusation beyond any doubt?

To commentors #17 and #19 - Jesus established the Church but yet He also gave us free will, and some have betrayed Him (Judas was the first). Don't deny yourself the grace of Jesus because some have betrayed Him. The vast majority of priests have lived good lives.
Would you stop going to the doctor if you found out that some doctors were abusing their patients? Of course not. Then don't abandon Jesus the Divine Physician and the Church.

Hughes is just plain creepy. Add this latest action with him deserting New Orleans after Katrina for Baton Rouge, I have NO RESPECT for him at all. While he was safely in BR, Archbishop Hannon (who is in his ninties), fought his way into the city, to counsel and support the first responders fighting to save our savaged city. He will always be the Archbishop of New Orleans to me.

to you, doctorj2u :
I am in total agreement.
From his earliest days of desegregation AB Hannan never fled into hiding. He is a brave man + a true shepherd not just another CEO like so many of today's bishops !

Hughes is a bad man. As an Archbishop, well, he is probably par for the course. I pray he leaves New Orleans soon.

Someone should do an interview with Archbishop Hannan before he returns to God ... He has a lot to teach all believers ... He is a true an of God ... we should be fortunate as to have more leaders of his calibre !
Boston could surely use such a leader ...

YOU CAN'T HIDE DARKNESS. IT SHALL COME INTO THE LIGHT. NO ONE THE APOLOGIZED TO THE CHILDREN THAT WERE SEXUAL ABUSE. THE CHURCH LEADERS COVERED UP FOR DECADES. THE PRIEST, NUNS AND CLERGY
UNDOUBTABLY KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON AND THEY DID NOTHING! ! ! THIS HAS BEEN VERY DISRESPECT OF CHILDREN! NEXT TIME LEAVE THE JUSTICE TO THE COURTS AND LET THEM PAY FOR THEM WITH A CONVICTION OF LIFE IN PRISON.
#15 THE CATHOLIC CHURCH SHOULD BE ATTACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FOR THE COVERUP.