INDIANAPOLIS The 120-year-old Holy Cross Church has stood empty over its namesake neighborhood for more than a decade. The city has protected the historic building from the wrecking ball, but the parish in charge of Holy Cross is taking legal action to tear it down.

St. Philip Neri Church, which merged with Holy Cross Church in 2014, filed a petition on Halloween for a judge to potentially overturn the building's status because of religious freedom.

The Indiana Historic Preservation Commission decided on October 1 to protect the building from demolition.

The Holy Cross church officially closed in 2019. The parish claims repairs to the long-vacant building could cost as much as $8.5 million.

"The building's deterioration, including the collapsed archway over the north entrance, has made

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