The Decibel - The Newfoundland town that seized its own church

Episode Date: November 19, 2024

In the small Newfoundland community of Portugal Cove south, the town church is considered its lifeblood, a community hub and historical touchstone, all rolled into one. But at the end of August, parishioners were told their church would be sold off to help the Roman Catholic Church pay a $104 million settlement.And when locals learned they couldn’t stop the sale, they took matters into their own hands.Today, the Globe’s Atlantic reporter, Lindsay Jones joins the podcast to tell the story of a small Newfoundland town seizing their own church, the historic court case it’s connected to, and how this standoff between one tiny town and the Roman Catholic Church, could end.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at [e-mail]

People in the town heard there was something important that was going to be revealed at the church that Sunday. And so more people than usual showed up. That's The Globe's Atlantic reporter, Lindsay Jones. At the end of August, in the small Newfoundland community of Portugal Cove South, people were told that their church, Holy Rosary, would be sold off to help the Roman Catholic Church pay a settlement. And they decided to do what, you know, self-reliant people in small town Newfoundland do, is they take matters into their own hands. Today, Lindsay joins us to tell the story of a small Newfoundland town seizing their own church, how it's connected to an historic court case, and how this standoff between one tiny town and the Roman Catholic Church could end.

I'm Maina Karaman-Wilms, and this is The Decibel from The Globe and Mail. Lindsay, thank you so much for being back on the podcast. Thanks for having me. So Lindsay, the story we're talking about takes place in a town called Portugal Cove South in Newfoundland. What's this community like? Well, this community is in a part of Newfoundland many people refer to as the Irish Loop. Many of the settlers that moved there are from Irish descent, and they are mainly Catholic. And because people are mainly Catholic, they have lots of big families who survived and worked in the fishing industry, in the cod industry for many years until the

moratorium in 92. Okay, so kind of thriving community up until the moratorium on cod fishing. And then kind of since then, what does the community look like now, Lindsay? Well, many people have left to go find work elsewhere. So there's only about 80 people left in this town. And there used to be hundreds of children in the local school, and now it's down to double digits. There are still that smattering of colorful houses built into the bluffs on the shoreline. The people that live there have a real sense of place and community and history, and they have remained and kept it alive. It's a vibrant place where they have this self-reliant attitude, where they help each other out and they're warm and friendly and neighborly. But, you know,

when it comes to their church, don't cross them. Okay, so Lindsay, tell me more about this church. So the Holy Rosary Church is over a century old, and it was built by the hands of the local settlers who came from Ireland. And many of the families that were the founding members still belong to this church. And that's part of the reason why it's so important in this community is that each family back in the day when cod fishing was still going on and the fishing plant was running, each family would have their own pew and it would be filled end to end with kids. And, you know, church was the social place, as it was in many different outport communities in Newfoundland and communities around the world. It was the place where you went to see your neighbors and to socialize. And because Portugal Coast is so remote, those older ways of life have been preserved. And the church, unlike in other urban places or bigger towns, it's still very important socially in the town.

Yeah. So, I mean, it sounds like people are really invested in their church then there. Can you tell me a little bit more about, yeah, I guess what the church looks like? Well, part of it, I think, is having respect for where they come from and paying tribute to their parents and their grandparents and their great grandparents. And so people weren't just going to let this church that was running into the ground fall apart. They really took it upon themselves to do something about that back in around 2019. And they held fundraising breakfasts, they sold doors and windows that would be put up in the church in memory of their loved ones. So there's so much history in this church. But then there's also,

you know, the people were looking so forward into the future as a way to memorialize their families, which this town is built on. So it sounds like there is a real emotional connection to this church and people there have invested a lot of money in it. So when this community learned that the church was going to be sold off? How did this all unfold, Lindsay? Like, how did people respond? Well, the people got wind that there was going to be a very important announcement made at church that Sunday. And so more people than usual showed up in the pews in the little Holy Rosary church at the top of the town. Cynthia Power, who is a main person in this story. Her family's been in this community forever and helped build this church. She sat right up close. She wanted to hear what Father Peter

Golden had to say. And it was shocking, the words that came out of his mouth to everybody there. He told them there had been an accepted offer on the church. And these people didn't even know their church had been put up for sale. It was for sale. There was an accepted offer. And as Cynthia Power put it, you could hear a pin drop in the church. Like the shock in the room was palpable. It's an insult to us, to this community, actually. You know, after us working so hard to raise all this money,

and now the St. John's Physical Corporation feels that they have the right to sell it. She is the head of the Portugal Cove South Historical Society. And so she met with the mayor, other officials in the community, other concerned citizens, and they came up with a plan. So they sent a letter to Archbishop Peter Hunt in St. John's, and they pleaded with him not to sell their church. They made their case about how much effort and love had gone into its restoration over the last few years. They spoke about how the church had been built by the hands of their forefathers. And the letter they got back was quite disappointing.

They heard that there was nothing Father Hunt could do, that the deal had already taken place. So Cynthia Power told me that they came up with a plan to change the locks. You're in a small community. Everybody here is pretty handy. So Cynthia Power told me that they came up with a plan to change the locks. You're in a small community. Everybody here is pretty handy. So we had no trouble to get someone to volunteer and change the locks on those doors. And she drove into the city one day and bought a bunch of supplies at the hardware store. She came home with new locks and Bristol board.

They sat on her living room floor and made these menacing signs. And the sign said, potential buyers are not welcome, not in cap letters. Our church is not for sale, said another. And they taped them up. They stapled them to the front of the church. So, you know, it's very striking. The church is dark slate gray, and there's this neon sign that's a warning to anyone coming near, you're not welcome. So they made these signs, and then town officials and some local men marched up to the top of the hill, and they pulled out their tools and they changed out the locks.

Wow. You said that it was back in August where they were kind of informed of this sale. Was this sale of their church just kind of sprung on the community? Like, did they have any idea that this was maybe going to happen? So people in the community were surprised. For sure, they were surprised. But they were asked by Father Peter Golden, that's their local priest. They were asked by him if they would be willing to buy back their church back in 2022. Imagine buying back your church, a church that we had just put $130,000 into. People thought it was preposterous that they should have to buy back their own church.

It felt like an insult to people in the town who have risen early, fundraised, given money out of their own pockets, been working for years to bring this church back to its glory. And it did not make sense for them at the time when they heard it. I think now in retrospect, buying it back for less than $50,000, it doesn't seem quite as preposterous considering the predicament that they're in right now. But at the time where none of these court rulings had held anything in stone, It was just an insult, something no one could fathom. You mentioned less than $50,000. What is this church being sold for?

This church is on the sale block for $48,000. It is at the top of the town, overlooking the ocean. It has brand new windows and doors, a wraparound porch. It's beautiful. They were asked to sell that to help pay off a settlement. And so they were basically like, hell no, we own this church. Without understanding, and how could they have known that two years later, there would be a court decision that would change all that? We'll be back in a minute. Lindsay, it sounds like this issue of Holy Rosary being sold comes back to this court decision and really back to the settlements that the Roman Catholic Church is dealing with. So what exactly is this settlement that the church is being sold in order to cover?

The Roman Catholic Church was ordered to pay settlements totaling $104 million to nearly 300 survivors of historical abuse in Newfoundland, which includes those survivors of Mount Cashel Orphanage in St. John's in the mid-century. Now, the orphanage closed in 1990, and the horrors that happened precipitated a mass cultural shift away from the authority of the church in Newfoundland. There were court cases that began in 1999, and the church was found liable for physical and sexual abuse suffered by the boys at Mount Cashel at the hands of the Christian Brothers. That was a Roman Catholic lay order that ran the facility. Okay. So this is a settlement for the physical and sexual abuse that happened then

at this orphanage, basically, in Newfoundland. You mentioned that there was a court order that happened this July. What exactly was that? So the Catholic Church had appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada to overturn a Newfoundland court of appeal decision that ordered them to pay out. And when the Supreme Court of Canada decided not to hear that case, that's when it sealed the deal on the settlement needed to be paid. And so that's when things started going into motion. Okay, so that's in July that the settlement that was essentially ordered, the church has to pay $104 million to the victims here. I guess I wonder though, Lindsay, because the sale of this one church, I mean, that can't be $104 million, right? So how are they covering the rest of that amount?

So there were dozens of churches and church properties that were slated to be sold off to help pay this settlement. And many of those have been sold. There's been plenty of opposition against that. But this case is perhaps the only one where the local community has taken it into their own hands to this length. So what happens at this moment, Lindsay, because it's on sale now, as you said. So if someone buys the building, what would happen to it? Could it continue being a church? So there is an accepted offer on the church, and I'm told by the real estate agent handling the sale that it's just a matter of time before the sale goes through. I don't know what happens next. I mean, the people are very much hopeful no one will dare step foot in their town.

And if they lost Holy Rosary, where would they go to church? So the church is closed over the winter this year, and people will go to church in the next town over. I mean, I imagine people are supportive of this settlement. Obviously, these victims deserve something here. But I guess I wonder, though, if members of this community, Lindsay, feel like they're being made to pay for things that they didn't do. Like, how is this viewed by the people in that community? They 100% feel as if they're being made to pay for the sins of the Christian brothers at Mount Cashel Orphanage, and they don't believe that's fair. They think that the victim should

receive a settlement and that money should be flowing to them for what they endured, but they don't think it should come on the backs of them or their local church. If I did something wrong, yes, I understand it's clearly been punished for it. But we, the residents of Portugal's Gulf South, did absolutely nothing wrong. And we are not saying anything against this lawsuit because rightfully so. All of those victims should be fully compensated for what happened to them. But I don't think it should come on the backs of the parishioners who didn't have anything to do with it. Their local priest, Father Peter Golden, agrees with that, that they should not be on the hook

for the sins of the church. What you're doing is transferring the blame for children being abused to the people. You're punishing the people for something they hadn't done. But the Supreme Court told us that the diocese had to pay. I think that's interesting that he is supporting them. And do Cynthia and other members of this community, do they have any plans to challenge this sale further? Well, on the ground, they're keeping an eye open for any strangers in their town. And if anyone dares step foot on the stairs leading to that church, they will be there. They're trying to send a strong message that no one is welcome to buy their church in their community. And

they've also started a GoFundMe. So far, they've raised three to $4,000. And they're planning to put that money towards legal challenge. If it comes to that, I did ask Cynthia, are you going to have to resort to pitchforks and torches to drive out whoever buys this church? And she said, well, we hope we don't have to resort to that. Well, put it this way, we're certainly going to make a stand. And we want potential buyers to know that they will not be welcome in our town. Just very lastly here, Lindsay, I mean, we've talked about the importance of the church in this community. What would it mean for people there if this church is sold and turned into something else?

I mean, this church is the focal point of the town. It sits at the top of the hill. Its windows overlook the bluffs and the ocean and the town. It sits at the top of the hill. Its windows overlook the bluffs and the ocean and the town, the array of homes speckled along the shore. And I really think that people feel like the church represents them, like it represents who they are as a community and how they've been able to survive and have hope over the years during the loss of the cod industry. And to them, it is a symbol of resilience and who they are as people. My parents and my parents-in-law, like they all got married in the church. Their babies,

like were baptized, like we were all baptized in the church in Portugal. And that's why it's very hard to see someone buying it and just removing all of our memories, because that's exactly what will happen. In a way, it's a loss. It's a piece of them that is going to be gone. And it's one more aspect of the town diminishing into the future. Lindsay, thank you so much for taking the time to be here today. Thank you. That's it for today. I'm Mainika Raman-Welms.

Our producers are Madeline White, Michal Stein, and Allie Graham. David Crosby edits the show. Adrian Chung is our senior producer, and Matt Frainer is our managing editor. Thanks so much for listening, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.