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...despite the relative powerlessness of lay Catholics in pushing for change, WMC continue to support resistance to the corporate power of the Springfield Diocese, which is often used to circumvent and frustrate the dignity and rights of stouthearted parishioners in Western Mass.....the latest example is the upcoming sale of St. Francis church, a lovely little frame structure (c. 1872) placed on the National Historic Register as part of the mill town of South Lee.....unfortunately the historic designation bestows no special protection for the church from development or indeed from outright destruction.....it is not so much that St. Francis is being sold, as the way it is being done.....once again, all the important transactions, discussions, debate and so on about the fate of the church are being done behind the backs of the primary stakeholders, the parishioners of St. Mary's of Lee...obviously, these are not gospel values, but rather corporate and centralizing ones...these values are good for dictators such as Kim Jung il, but hey, we don't need a hermit kingdom here.....credit is due to Brody Hale, who has never ceased from trying to find alternate uses that would preserve St. Francis church.....as a side note, our man Brody will soon be off on one of the Fulbright Programs to Seoul, South Korea.....this is after a successful stint as part of the Teach For America program in New Orleans...also of note is that he is an honors graduate of Tufts University — AND, legally blind.....can you believe it?....wishing him all the best.....on the topic of keeping the faith even while losing many small battles, the columnist Dan Shea of the Springfield Republican has profiled Sheila Rooney Zagula, who has written about 35 letters to the editor in recent years on the sad record of child sexual abuse and poor response to same within the Diocese of Springfield....the court reporter Connor Berry has moved from the Berkshire Eagle to the Springfield Republican.....he will be missed.....