Catholics of Chideock refused Sunday Mass

Current status: local action as appropriate. The regular worshippers of this great historical church, built to commemorate the five Catholic martyrs who either came from or were captured in the village, deserve our support. The Catholic Herald has a leading article calling on Bishop Budd to ensure that Sunday worship continues in Chideock. Worshippers have set up a group called Friends of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs and St Ignatius.

Key facts: the parish has been merged with two others in the Diocese of Plymouth. The churches of the other parishes have an anticipated Sunday Mass and a Sunday morning Mass from the Parish Priest, Fr Shaddock.
It is diocesan policy to discourage priests from saying more than two Masses on a Sunday. Priests in the surrounding parishes continue to say more than this on account of the pastoral need. Fr Shaddock uses his spare time to practice as a psychoanalyst. He has now stopped saying Mass in Chideock even during the week.
The dissipation of the Sunday congregation at Chideock has put the finances of the combined parish into the red.
The stunning church, build in 1872 by the Weld family, is owned by the Weld Trust. The Trustees offered to increase their contribution to the church's upkeep and to pay a £10,000 stipend, if Fr Shaddock would say Masses there on Sunday. Fr Shadock rejected the offer, accusing them of simony.

See here for the Catholic Herald feature article. (This link will 'rot' when the next issue is published.)