Sit-in winds down at St. Anthony
MONONGAHELA, Pa. (AP) — A group of parishioners has abandoned a sit-in to protest the closing of a Roman Catholic church in Monongahela.
About 25 people had refused to leave St. Anthony’s church after its final Mass on Saturday evening.
However, protester Laura Magone says only she and two others remained by Sunday morning. She says security guards wouldn’t allow them to open windows to receive food and water.
Magone says parishioners “leave our church with heavy hearts.” She says they plan to appeal the closing to the Vatican.
A diocesan spokesman says there isn’t enough money to support the building, and that its closure has been planned for a long time. St. Anthony has been merged into a new parish called St. Damien of Molokai.