Judge Again Bars 2 From Church for Praying Too Loudly
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GREENSBURG, Pa. — For the second time in as many weeks, two women have been kicked out of church for praying too loudly.
Common Pleas Judge Bernard Scherer ruled Wednesday that they violated the church’s property rights and broke its rules. He said they can enter with permission of its pastor.
The Blessed Sacrament Cathedral will allow the two back if they promise to pray quietly, said Alice Laurich, a spokeswoman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg. “That’s what the injunction says, and we’re not in the business of keeping people out of church,” she said. “We’re just sorry we had to go through all of this during Holy Week.”
On Friday, Scherer barred the women, Joan Sudwoj and Cynthia Balconi, from Holy Cross in Youngwood until they comply with rules to pipe down.
Parishioners there endured two years of Sudwoj, Balconi and a third woman who agreed last week to quiet down.
They have refused to comment, and their motives are a mystery.
They reportedly had been so loud that they drowned out the preacher’s voice and on one occasion the choir.
Rather than attend the court hearing, the two women spent the time at Blessed Sacrament, praying loudly.
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