The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from parishioners who are occupying a church that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston closed more than a decade ago.
The court declined to hear a case involving the St. Frances X. Cabrini church in Scituate, Mass.
The parishioners have said they would leave within 14 days of a high court order.
A spokesperson for the Friends of St. Frances X. Cabrini, said the group plans to consult with its attorney, but acknowledged, "it doesn't sound good."
They have occupied the church since the archdiocese closed it in 2004.
The Supreme Court order leaves in place a judge's decision to evict the parishioners in a trespass case brought by the archdiocese. A spokesman for the archdiocese did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In other court action today, In Zubik v. Burwell, the court today remanded the cases back to the lower courts. The justices have not decided whether the Obama administration's birth control mandate violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. "Nothing in this opinion, or in the opinions or orders of the courts below, is to affect the ability of the government to ensure that women covered by petitioners' health plans "obtain, without cost, the full range of FDA approved contraceptives," the court said.
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