Cleveland bishop to reopen 12 closed parishes
Last Modified: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 10:27 AM
CLEVELAND (AP) — Twelve closed Roman Catholic churches spared by the Vatican in the Cleveland Diocese will be reopened.
Bishop Richard Lennon announced the move Tuesday.
The action was a response to last month's extraordinary Vatican decision overruling his decision to close the 12 parishes. It was a rare instance in which Rome reversed a U.S. bishop on the shutdown of churches.
The Cleveland bishop had ordered the churches closed over the past several years because of declining numbers of priests and parishioners and financial issues.
The Vatican's Congregation for the Clergy ruled Lennon failed to follow church law and procedure in the closings.
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