US Catholic officials say sale of church to Muslims is no big deal
The diocese of Buffalo, New York, announced that the maintenance costs for the Gothic-style St. Ann's Church have become prohibitive. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
The future of a Gothic cathedral in upstate New York has ignited significant online debate.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo has responded to the sale of a historic church to the local Muslim community after a social media post about the transaction sparked a wave of angry comments.
St. Ann’s Church, constructed in 1886, was closed in 2007 due to a lack of parishioners and sold to a holding company in 2022. Recently, the church was referenced as a sign of the decline of Christianity in the U.S.
“Sold to the Islamic community for $250,000 who are converting the historic church into a mosque,” an account named ‘Father R. Vierling’ posted on X, including photos of the cathedral. The post reached 11 million views.
Many comments on the post were so outraged that the original poster felt compelled to respond, urging commenters not to express their frustration towards the Islamic community. He attributed the church's closure to “the changing demographics of the area and the inability to financially support the complex,” noting this trend is occurring in large urban dioceses nationwide.
Financial issues were indeed a key factor in the sale, according to the Diocese of Buffalo, as shared with The Tablet, a Catholic publication in New York City. Joe Martone, a diocese spokesman, indicated that repairs for the church would have exceeded $30 million.
“It needed a tremendous amount of money in repairs,” Martone stated. “The work that was needed was incredibly expensive and beyond the scope of the diocese.”
The Diocese of Buffalo filed for bankruptcy in 2020, overwhelmed by 900 allegations of sexual abuse involving clergy and other staff members.
In November 2022, the diocese sold the unused St. Ann’s, along with a school and convent complex, to Buffalo Crescent Holdings. Although local media reported that the company planned to convert the complex into a mosque, neither the Islamic Center nor the Buffalo Diocese confirmed such intentions at that time.
Martone added that the diocese had released the property for “profane use,” allowing it to be used for any purpose as long as it was not “sacrilegious, immoral, or scandalous.”
“We’ve had other properties that we’ve sold within the diocese that have been sold to other religious groups that have used them for their faith services, so as a general rule, the diocese does not have a problem with that,” he explained.
Buffalo, home to nearly 280,000 residents along the coast of Lake Erie near the US-Canada border, has experienced a surge of immigrants from Yemen, Somalia, Bangladesh, and Iraq since 2000.
Camille Lefevre contributed to this report for TROIB News
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo has responded to the sale of a historic church to the local Muslim community after a social media post about the transaction sparked a wave of angry comments.
St. Ann’s Church, constructed in 1886, was closed in 2007 due to a lack of parishioners and sold to a holding company in 2022. Recently, the church was referenced as a sign of the decline of Christianity in the U.S.
“Sold to the Islamic community for $250,000 who are converting the historic church into a mosque,” an account named ‘Father R. Vierling’ posted on X, including photos of the cathedral. The post reached 11 million views.
Many comments on the post were so outraged that the original poster felt compelled to respond, urging commenters not to express their frustration towards the Islamic community. He attributed the church's closure to “the changing demographics of the area and the inability to financially support the complex,” noting this trend is occurring in large urban dioceses nationwide.
Financial issues were indeed a key factor in the sale, according to the Diocese of Buffalo, as shared with The Tablet, a Catholic publication in New York City. Joe Martone, a diocese spokesman, indicated that repairs for the church would have exceeded $30 million.
“It needed a tremendous amount of money in repairs,” Martone stated. “The work that was needed was incredibly expensive and beyond the scope of the diocese.”
The Diocese of Buffalo filed for bankruptcy in 2020, overwhelmed by 900 allegations of sexual abuse involving clergy and other staff members.
In November 2022, the diocese sold the unused St. Ann’s, along with a school and convent complex, to Buffalo Crescent Holdings. Although local media reported that the company planned to convert the complex into a mosque, neither the Islamic Center nor the Buffalo Diocese confirmed such intentions at that time.
Martone added that the diocese had released the property for “profane use,” allowing it to be used for any purpose as long as it was not “sacrilegious, immoral, or scandalous.”
“We’ve had other properties that we’ve sold within the diocese that have been sold to other religious groups that have used them for their faith services, so as a general rule, the diocese does not have a problem with that,” he explained.
Buffalo, home to nearly 280,000 residents along the coast of Lake Erie near the US-Canada border, has experienced a surge of immigrants from Yemen, Somalia, Bangladesh, and Iraq since 2000.
Camille Lefevre contributed to this report for TROIB News
