Selling historic churches to Muslims is not a big problem

New York – The Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, New York, announced the sale of a historic church to the local Muslim community, after social media articles about the deal prompted a flood of comments.

St. Anne’s Church was built in 1886. The church closed in 2007, because there were not enough parishioners to maintain it, and it was sold to a property company in 2022.

However, earlier this month, it was said that the church was an example of the decline of Christianity in the United States (US).

“Sold to the Islamic community for USD 250,000 that turned the historic church into a mosque,” one account named ‘Father R. Vierling’ posted on X, with a picture of the cathedral in Gothic style. The post has been viewed 11 million times.

Some of the comments under the post were so angry that the creator of the original post had to respond, urging people not to direct their anger at the Islamic community.

He blamed the parish’s decline on “the changing demographics of the area and the inability to support the complex financially,” noting, “This situation plays out in large urban dioceses across the country.

“Financial concerns were actually the reason for the sale,” the Diocese of Buffalo told The Tablet, a Catholic media outlet in New York City.

“Repairing the church would have cost more than $30 million at that time,” said diocesan spokesman Joe Martone.

“It will take a lot of money to repair,” Martone said. “The work required is very expensive and outside the scope of the diocese.”