CLEVELAND -- Members of a Cleveland church that was ordered closed have defied their Roman Catholic bishop with a Mass celebrated in a warehouse by a priest on leave.
Several hundred people attended Sunday's service led by Rev. Robert Marrone. His congregation at the closed St. Peter Church had been warned by Bishop Richard Lennon to avoid setting up a breakaway church.
Members upset by the closing describe themselves as traditional Catholics challenging the shutdown, not their faith. The bishop says a renegade congregation can lead to disunity.
The eight-county Cleveland diocese has closed or merged 50 parishes, blaming declining numbers of priests, parishioners and finances.
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