‘They’re never gonna let it sell’: Angry Branch residents surround Catholic church to prevent potential buyer from viewing property | SaltWire | CPT PPP Coverage

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BRANCH, N.L. — Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Branch, N.L., sits atop a hill at the end of a dirt road, overlooking the rural community.

Last month, local parishioners assembled a vehicular barricade, blocking a potential buyer from viewing the church.

The property is one of many churches being sold by the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corp. of St. John’s to settle claims of abuse at the Mount Cashel Orphanage between the 1940s and 1960s. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled the archdiocese was vicariously liable to settle these claims in July 2020.

Tammy Roche, who grew up in Branch and now resides in St. John’s, “fully supports” the efforts of parishioners to dissuade the potential sale of the church.

“I think they did the right thing,” said Roche.

Community church

For many years, the Holy Rosary Catholic Church was a pillar of Branch, a small community of under 300 people. Roche views the church as property of the community, and disagrees with the legal decision to sell any church from the Catholic community.

“Every piece of board that went on that church was from money raised by the residents,” said Roche. “The Town of Branch and the people in it own that church.”

Branch Mayor Kelly Nash Power posted photos of the blockade to her personal Facebook on the day of the event. Above the photos, she wrote, “This is what happens in Branch when you try to buy our church.”

She was unavailable for comment.

When asked about the disruption, Archbishop Peter Hundt acknowledged via email the emotional distress the sale of the parish has had on the people and clergy, and asked for “God’s healing grace” for the victims.

“We understand and appreciate the important emotional, spiritual, and community ties that parishioners have to their church buildings,” he said.

“Such is certainly the case for many of the involved and dedicated members of Holy Rosary Church in Branch.”

The church had been listed for sale on multiple local real estate websites, but at the time of writing has since expired or been removed from all of them.

Community or church responsibility?

In Roche’s view, compensation for the abuse victims should be paid out by The Holy See in Vatican City, due to its “abundance of money”.

“We fully support the victims,” said Roche. “They should receive compensation, but why are they taking it from the pockets of the parishioners?”

The best-case scenario for Roche would be an act of philanthropy in which the property would remain within the church community after purchase, as in the case of the successful bid on The Basilica Cathedral and St. Bonaventure’s College by the Basilica Heritage Foundation.

“It’s a sacred piece of land to anybody that’s from Branch,” said Roche. “These are churches we baptized our children in, they’re churches we got married in, they’re churches we’ve had funerals and wakes in … there’s a lifetime of memories in that church.

Despite her fears, Roche can’t imagine what an outsider would want to do with the property in such a small community.

As of writing, March 19 has been the only reported instance of the community preventing anybody from viewing the property, but Roche thinks the community will “stand their ground” to protect what it feels is rightfully theirs.

“They’re never gonna let it sell.”