Church members sue over sale of buildings

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Members of a Roman Catholic church who have feuded with church officials for more than a decade over the consolidation of their parish have filed a federal lawsuit to try to stop the sale of buildings they claim hold their heritage.
In the lawsuit filed Tuesday, members of St. Matthew church in Pittsburgh are trying to bar Bishop Donald Weurl from selling the congregation's former rectory, convent and schoolhouse to New York developers.
The congregation seeks to prevent the sale by challenging state law that gives bishops control of church property as unconstitutional.
Judges, including the state Supreme Court, cited state law when they turned away attempts by the congregation in the 1990s to block consolidation of their parish with six others.
The legal battle apparently ended in October 1998 when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider the case.
The Rev. Ron Lengwin, a spokesman for the Pittsburgh diocese, said he believed the diocese would prevail as in other court cases. He said the diocese would not be closing churches if there were enough parishioners.