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Catholic Churches, Sanctuary and Property Law
Sounds dry, doesn’t it?
Maybe it is, but I thought it might be worth discussing since we’re going into a phase of mass deportations in the U.S.
I’m a bit of a real estate nerd. I’ve passed exams to hold licenses to sell real estate in Canadian and American jurisdictions, more importantly, I’ve been paid to serve as a researcher and analyst to several national non-profits and professional groups on the subject of property law, rights enforcement, and indigenous housing practices. To me, this is interesting stuff.
There has been a lot of discussion about deporting undocumented immigrants since Trump won in November. I’m not asking myself, (or anyone else) if he can or will actually do this but I am interested in what this means for the Catholic sanctuary movement.
A while back, I was asked to do some research into the rights of a church being occupied in order to keep its doors open. A church can’t be de-consecrated, or whatever the correct term might be, if there are people inside it worshiping, or keeping vigil. Several American Catholic churches have been saved from immediate destruction this way. Although it’s worth mentioning that the Vatican often proceeds to starve them of support, meaning they die a slow death even after they’ve won their battle.