Page 3, 9th August 1985

9th August 1985

Page 3

Page 3, 9th August 1985 — Bishop calls last orders on Luton parish centre
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Bishop calls last orders on Luton parish centre

'Save our club' plea
by Kasia Giedroye STORMY PROTESTS have greeted a bishop's decision to close a local Catholic club because he could no longer justify the Church's involvement in gambling and the sale of alcohol. '
Members of the 30-strong club committee at the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Stopsley, this week sent a letter to Bishop Francis Thomas of Northampton appealing against the move.
At a special meeting on August 18, they will try to persuade their parish priest, Fr Eugene Connolly, that the club is an asset to the parish and should be preserved.
The bishop's decision to "put in motion the requisite steps to close the present club" was made clear in a letter to Fr Connolly, which was issued to parishoners last month in the form of a bulletin.
"The Church needs to justify her direct involvement in the running of an establishment where the principal sales and source of income are alcohol and gaming machines," said Bishop Thomas, after a visit to the parish.
He added that the arguments Bishop Thomas of Northampton.
in favour of Catholic clubs were strong, "as lung as the club remains clearly tied to the parish, and truly merits the title 'parish centre'."
Bishop Thomas saw the vital link between the church and club as Stopsley as "weak". The club, he said, had become "a source of tension and division," and it was time for a fresh start.
He admitted that his decision was "rather drastic" but although he took the step reluctantly, he saw it as "an opportunity and a challenge to The parish as a whole to see the centre as an asset to be exploited pastorally and socially," According to the club secretary, Larry McGrat in, business "is booming".
He told the Catholic Herald that the club, which has over 500 members, takes £3,500 a week. The ten-year loan from 'Iruman's brewery has been settled, and profits from the bar and fruit machines go to local charities.
"Parishioners of all ages are dependent on the club as a social centre," said Mr McGratin, who has high hopes that the meeting with Fr Connolly later this month will win a reprieve.
"1 honestly believe that with a good strong committee we can overcome tensions and divisions," he added. "There will be a great sense of loss in the parish if the present club is closed."
Bishop Thomas -and Fr Connolly, both on holiday this week, were not available for comment, but a Church spokesman said that Catholic clubs are a headache for many parish priests.
"When a small group takes over the running of the club, it is in danger of becoming divisive and elitist rather than a focus of unity in the parish," he said. "Then you get the ultimate absurdity of a funeral in the church, with a disco raging in the parish hall next door."




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