Appeals Court To Consider Evicting Protesters From Scituate Church

SCITUATE, Mass. (AP) — Parishioners holding a round-the-clock protest in a closed Catholic church for nearly 11 years will have their day in court this week.

The Massachusetts Appeals Court hears arguments Wednesday in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston's bid to evict the Friends of St. Frances X. Cabrini from the deconsecrated Scituate church.

A three-judge panel will only hear arguments; they are expected to issue a written decision at a later date.

The hearing comes after an appeals court judge in June ruled the protesters could continue their vigil while they appeal a lower court decision that declared them trespassers and ordered them to vacate.

The group is the last of a number that had physically occupied Boston-area churches after the archdiocese closed dozens of them to stabilize its finances in 2004.