Appeals court hears arguments in Boston archdiocese's bid to end 11-year church occupation
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
The Massachusetts Appeals Court has heard arguments in a bid to evict parishioners from a shuttered church they've occupied in protest for nearly 11 years.
A three-judge panel heard brief arguments Wednesday and questioned lawyers from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston and the group that's been holding a round-the-clock vigil at the church in Scituate since 2004.
The Friends of St. Frances X. Cabrini group says a lower court judge wrongly prevented them from presenting arguments and evidence referencing church law when he ruled in May that the protesters had to vacate.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
The archdiocese says the case is a simple property law dispute that shouldn't consider ecclesiastical issues.
The appeals court did not immediately rule.