St. Mary’s Health Center files temporary restraining order against St. Mary’s Basilica

WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) – St. Mary’s Health Center has filed a temporary restraining order against St. Mary’s Basilica after watching what they describe as “disgusting” Ring doorbell footage.

“It feels like a slap in the face,” said health center director Laura Vinson.

In the video taken Friday, Oct. 12, the health center says the basilica’s pastor, Father Thomas Davis, can be seen watching with a deputy as a locksmith changes the center’s locks.

Then, in a Ring doorbell video taken this week, you can see the priest ordering a worker to remove the Ring doorbell cameras himself.

“It kind of shocked me because we hadn’t received anything, letting us know that this was going to happen,” Vinson said.

Since then, Vinson says neither she nor her staff have been able to gain entry. As a result, they have had to refuse service to almost 30 patients over the past week. The health center is the only place in the city to offer free dental services to low-income patients.

“If we had the money to leave, we would have left here,” Vinson said. “We just want to be able to take care of people. »

When WECT contacted church leaders, we were directed to their website which has a statement on the situation:

“The clinic operators have repeatedly and consistently refused to cooperate on a timetable that would allow them to vacate our premises and move to a new location by the end of the calendar year. The court told us that the dental clinic is an invitee and our only recourse is to give the clinic a notice of trespass.

We didn’t want to give notice of trespassing. But the center continued to refuse any move time and the only option left, unfortunately, was to accept the court’s finding that the clinic operators are trespassers. Last Friday, we followed the court’s decision and issued a trespass notice to the clinic.

At least one parishioner has left the church because of how church leaders handled the situation with the health center, but he tells us he knows many others who have also left for similar reasons.

“I believe that keeping this clinic open for the poor people of this area who desperately need it is very important, and that is what our religion is all about, helping those who can’t help themselves,” he said. said former parishioner Ralph Maggio. .

Vinson filed a temporary restraining order so she and her staff can hopefully start seeing patients again. She plans to change the locks again Friday morning so they can get in for a clinic they’re hosting later in the day.

Due to the temporary restraining order, the basilica and health center will be back in court on October 25 to determine whether the restraining order should be converted to a preliminary injunction.

Copyright 2024 WECT. All rights reserved.