Arguments from both sides have been heard and it’s now up to the judge to decide if a church on the southern Avalon belongs to parishioners or the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation.

Holy Rosary Church in Portugal Cove South was going up for sale when parishioners changed the locks on the doors, claiming ownership. They told the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador that the archdiocese did not own the church as parishioners took over repairs to the site about ten years ago.

The archdiocese argued that changing the locks was trespassing.

The corporation is selling off church properties in order to cover the cost of sexual abuse claims at Mount Cashel Orphanage.