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| A priest only identified as Father Bob from Rhode Island, stands in front of a TV camera to block filming of the last Sunday Mass at the church yesterday. The back of his head did appear on Channel 5 last night. (Daily News photos by Mike Springer.) |
No welcome mat for press
by Joe Dwinell
St. Jeremiah's Church in Framingham, home to bells dedicated in memory of Teacher in Space Christa McAuliffe, is the latest parish to be shut down. At yesterday's final Sunday Mass, the press was ordered off the property. (As the photo below shows, it was a tense day.) It's happening again today. Photographers are being told to leave the premises. Emotions are churning to the surface as parishioners decide if they will take part in a vigil or quietly worship, as the Archdiocese has asked, at a neighboring church, as today's story tells. But don't blame the press. The church-closing crisis coming on the heels of the abuse crisis is one stack of bad press for the church. I don't blame them for being upset, but standing in front of cameras (shown here) is silly. There's no easy answer when it comes to closing churches. You ask the faithful to put their heart into weekly Mass, so church leaders must factor in the tears and anger when the doors are to be closed. The press is only trying to tell that story.
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| A priest only identified as Father Bob from Rhode Island, stands in front of a TV camera to block filming of the last Sunday Mass at the church yesterday. The back of his head did appear on Channel 5 last night. (Daily News photos by Mike Springer.) |