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A Catholic parish of Manitowoc remains in favor of no longer using St. Bonafice Church.
In an appeal update from the end of November, St. Francis of Assisi Parish said a ruling was issued affirming the initial decision to close the church from Bishop David Ricken with the Diocese of Green Bay.
A last appeal has now been made against the decision, and they are waiting on the final word from the Apostolic Signatura, or the Supreme Court of the Catholic Church.
In Ricken’s decree, he said St. Bonafice hasn’t been used regularly since 2005 and continues to be a fiscal burden, with the building and artifacts in danger of decay and damage.
Ricken also said in his decree, “The community has declined in population and experience a loss in industry.”
According to the parish, the group that wants to preserve the building worked with them to create a memorandum of understanding, which never came to fruition.
Seehafernews.com reached out to the Archdiocese of Green Bay to which they said they wouldn’t speak on the matter any further.
They instead sent us to the St. Francis of Assisi Parish website for information.
You can read the decree and update it online at sfamanitowoc.org.
You can also find a story we did with the group that’s trying to keep the church open by going to seehafernews.com.
