BY ED WEST
THE SOCIETY of St Pius X is reportedly planning to buy a disused Anglican church in Manchester.
Lefebvrists have signalled an interest in buying St George’s in Gorton, south Manchester, and the Church Commissioners, the body that manages the Church of England’s historic assets, are consulting on the sale.
Objectors have until March 31 to raise concerns. It has been reported that Bishop Nigel McCulloch of Manchester, chairman of the national council of Christians and Jews, has reservations about selling the church to the SSPX.
In January Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunication of the four bishops ordained by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1988.
The move, designed to bring traditionalists back into the fold, caused controversy after one of the bishops, Richard Williamson, was shown denying the Holocaust on Swedish television.
Bishop Williamson, who grew up in Buckinghamshire, was expelled from Argentina last month and is now living in London.
Jackie Pearcey, Liberal Democratic councillor for Gorton North, said: “We have all manner of religious groups here but to invite the ‘Church of Latter Day HolocaustDeniers’ is a matter of real concern.”