A LONG-running row over the future of a tiny mountain chapel has deepened with angry churchgoers demanding that the local bishop explain his claim they had breached an agreement.A week ago, the Bishop of Raphoe, Dr Philip Boyce, took back control of St Colmcille's Chapel at Laghey Barr, 10 kilometres from Donegal town, which he had relinquished to the local community six months previously.
Sunday Masses had been terminated at the chapel five years ago due to a shortage of priests and the church was about to be put on the market to raise funds for the local primary school.
The community had been told by local parish priest, Fr Seamus Dagens that the 50 families or so could join the rest of his congregation at Masses in the main parish church, St Bridget's, eight kilometres away.
Averted
But thanks to an unusual agreement with the bishop, which effectively handed control of the chapel to lay members of the local community to run occasional Masses said by approved visiting priests, the sale of the church was averted.
Since then, the community has organised 13 Masses, including one on Christmas Day when the chapel was packed with 200 worshippers. But last week the bishop did a U-turn and said control of St Colmcille's was reverting to the parish priest.
The bishop said in a message to parishioners that the Laghey Barr community had breached an agreement that there would only be "occasional" Masses in their church. He also complained of "inappropriate" advertising for priests to celebrate Mass, from some of whom they did not obtain satisfactory references.
Yesterday, the community hit back and released the terms of a private agreement, which they signed last November with the approval of Bishop Boyce.
It said they had control of St Colmcille's and an ordained priest who would be vetted by the Raphoe Diocesan Office would celebrate that Mass.
Laghey Barr church community vice-chairperson Mairead Gallagher, a signatory to the agreement, issued a statement to local newspapers saying that nowhere in the agreement was there a condition that Masses would be celebrated only occasionally.
She said the community wanted the bishop to correct his "erroneous" statement and to clarify who were the "non-vetted" priests who celebrated Mass.
She added: "The priests who accepted our invitation to celebrate Mass for us were inspiring and we felt animated. Many members were finding more meaning in Mass again."
Raphoe diocesan secretary Fr Michael McKeever said Bishop Boyce's decision is unchanged.
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(Source: II)