1 church too many: Mount Pearl Catholics divided over which one to save

The two Catholic churches in Mount Pearl are now at the centre of lobbying over which one will be saved — and since church leaders in the city are deadlocked, the decision rests largely with Archbishop Peter Hundt.

Is Mary Queen of the World Church on Topsail Road, where parishioners have been practising their faith for about four decades, the future for Catholics in Mount Pearl?

Or is it St. Peter's on Ashford Drive, which is newer and bigger?

These are very emotional questions coming at a time of great upheaval for churchgoers throughout the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John's.

Catholic properties throughout the St. John's area are being sold off as the archdiocese looks to compensate Mount Cashel abuse victims.

Committees linked to both Mount Pearl churches submitted bids to the court-appointed insolvency monitor, Ernst & Young, but CBC News has learned that both bids, considered too low, were rejected. And it doesn't appear there were any other suitable offers from non-church-connected bidders.

Now a big decision has to be made: pool the combined resources of both parishes and submit a new, more substantial bid on one of the two churches.

But here's the problem.

A 10-member steering committee is leading the effort to determine a way forward for Catholics in Mount Pearl, comprising five members from St Peter's and five from Mary Queen of the World.

Not surprisingly, they're deadlocked, and cannot decide on which church to save as a place of worship.

The only thing they seem to agree on is that the only viable path is one church. That's because congregations are shrinking, and raising the money needed for a mortgage to purchase one of the churches is more realistic under a single, united parish.

It's a divisive issue, and no one is talking on the record. 

CBC News learned that a meeting was scheduled for Thursday morning, with representatives of both parishes making a pitch to the archbishop on why their respective church should be saved.

The meeting was to take place at 9 a.m. at the archbishop's office, but it did not go ahead as scheduled.