Prompts winter weather advisories as cold air moves in Friday night

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

The Minnesota Court of Appeals has ruled against 

 who want to stop the demolition of a historic central Minnesota church.

For 118 years, the Catholic Church of St. Mary in Melrose, Minn., was revered for its beautiful design, with twin steeples and onion-shaped domes. The church 

 in the lives of many residents of this small Stearns County town.

In 2016, a fire heavily damaged its interior. Last year, a

 teenager confessed to intentionally starting the fire

 and was charged with arson in juvenile court.

After a lengthy debate, Diocese of St. Cloud officials decided to demolish the church and build a new one. They cited numerous problems with the old building, including accessibility, not meeting codes and the lack of a gathering space.

A group of parishioners calling themselves Friends to Restore St. Mary’s sued the parish, the St. Cloud diocese and Bishop Donald Kettler, arguing that the historic church is a natural resource and cannot be demolished under the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act.

But a lower court ruled that the church has autonomy to decide internal matters. In an opinion issued Tuesday, the Minnesota Court of Appeals agreed.

“We recognize that the loss of this beautiful, old, treasured church building is, and will continue to be, keenly felt,” Judge Louise Dovre Bjorkman wrote.

, the court cannot resolve the matter without interfering with an internal church decision “and fostering excessive governmental entanglement with religion.”

Construction on the new church building nearby is already underway. The parish has been celebrating Mass in a school gymnasium since the fire, while the old church stands empty.

Cyri Van Hecke, an attorney representing the parish, the diocese and Bishop Kettler, said the arson fire was “really a tragedy for the entire St. Mary’s community.”

Still, Van Hecke said the appeals court was “absolutely right” when it said that a state law cannot be used to interfere with a decision that affects the faith and mission of the Catholic Church.

“This means that a group of parishioners cannot challenge the decision of Catholic bishop with respect to issues of doctrine by using a civil statute,” she said.

Martin Melang, an attorney representing Friends to Restore St. Mary's, said the group is considering its next move, including the possibility of an appeal.

"Obviously, we're disappointed with the decision,” Melang said. “We believe that the court did make a mistake, and that the church and diocese and the bishop never really set forth an ecclesiastical basis for the demolition of the church building."

Santina Lovelace, a member of Friends to Restore St. Mary's and a former St. Mary’s parishioner, urged Bishop Kettler to allow the old church to be restored and used for other purposes.

“They're going to build a new church. That's fine,” Lovelace said. “I think we've come to the point where it isn't about the church as a worship space. It's about the building as part of our history, and that's what we don't want to see destroyed."

Van Hecke said the decision to build a new church was never meant to alienate any parishioners of the church.

“This was a terrible ordeal for the entire community to go through,” she said. “They’re really looking forward to building that new church and having some sort of healing and closure.”

In a statement, Bishop Kettler said he was pleased with the appeals court’s ruling “protecting the First Amendment rights of the church in matters of faith and doctrine.”

“I support the work of St. Mary’s as they move forward with the process of building a new church,” he stated. “I continue to keep the entire parish community in my prayers.”

The opponents of the church’s demolition have 30 days to decide whether to petition the Minnesota Supreme Court to review the decision.

Minnesota News

Minnesota History

NewsPartners

Kirsti Marohn

Author

The community that once gathered inside St. Mary's Catholic church is now divided on whether to restore or rebuild the Melrose church after it suffered a fire in March 2016.

Mass is currently being held in the St. Mary's School gymnasium.

Paul Middlestaedt for MPR News file 2017

Many of the stained glass windows were largely spared.

Kirsti Marohn | MPR News

The interior of the church was heavily damaged in the March 2016 fire.

Appeals court rules against group trying to save historic central Minn. church

Go Deeper.

Like this?