The doors to St. Mary's Church
/ file photo
JAMESVILLE, ONONDAGA CO. (AP) -- A panel of cardinals at the Vatican is set to review an appeal submitted by parishioners to reopen their suburban Syracuse Catholic church.
Officials at St. Mary's Church in Jamesville say the Vatican Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing for Saturday.
Catholic activist Peter Borre of the Council of Parishes, which has spent years appealing church closings in the Boston area, says this is the first appeal by an American parish group to be accepted for full review after reaching the court. There are groups appealing other closings that also hope to win hearings.
Borre says Monday the court's decision won't be announced for a couple of weeks.
The campaign to keep St. Mary's open began in September 2006, when James Moynihan, former bishop of the Syracuse Diocese, announced the church would become a mission of Holy Cross parish in nearby DeWitt.
Click here to read a similar story about the closed Holy Trinity Church on Park Street in Syracuse.
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