Statement of the Diocese of Toledo regarding the moratorium on demolition permits and the former Sacred Heart Church
It is both surprising and distressing that Toledo City Council has hastily declared an unconstitutional and facially invalid moratorium on building demolition that implicitly targets the former Sacred Heart Church, a building the City does not own and over which it does not have jurisdiction.
Before making the difficult decision to raze the former church, Epiphany of the Lord Parish together with the Diocese carried out a lengthy and comprehensive due diligence process, including multiple town hall meetings, engagement with parish membership, leadership and other stakeholders, along with engineering studies which revealed severe structural damage.
Reasonable persons could not imagine the City repeating its past mistake by again interfering in the Diocese’s decisions regarding its own private property as governed by the law of the church. Were the City to do so, the Diocese will have no choice but to pursue legal action to protect its First Amendment religious freedom rights, which almost certainly would cost the City considerable taxpayer funds in legal fees.
We would hope that reason will prevail, and that City Council will rescind the ban and concentrate on addressing the critical issues facing our City instead of interfering in matters which are within neither its purview nor authority.
Posted July 30, 2024 at 3:42 pm