Couple Says Church Wouldn't Let Them Buy Mansion For Fear They'd Turn It Into Gay Wedding Site

Potential homeowners may have a slew of ideas for what they’d do with a house once it changes hands, but is it discrimination to prevent someone from buying a property because of what that home could become after the sale takes place? A gay couple in Massachusetts says that’s the case with a mansion the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester is allegedly refusing to sell them.

The two men filed a discrimination suit today saying the church doesn’t want them to turn the home into a gay wedding site, reports the Associated Press.

In the lawsuit, the couple claims negotiations to buy a former retreat center were going on swimmingly when church officials suddenly had a change of heart and pulled out of the proceedings.

The men say the chancellor of the diocese accidentally included them on an email to the church’s broker, citing the reason the sale didn’t go through was because of the “potentiality of gay marriages” happening there in the future. However the church’s chancellor claims the deal fell apart because there were worries that the couple wouldn’t be able to finance the purchase of the home.

Mass. gay couple sues Worcester Diocese for denying opportunity to buy church-owned mansion [Associated Press]

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