Dutch Catholic Church closings create opportunity for antique religious items in Latin America

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NETHERLANDS - For years, the diocese [Watch Video] of s'Hertogensbosch and Eindhovenegan were trying to find a new religious home for everything from fine gold and silver vessels used at Mass to heavy wooden pews no longer in use. Now a cathedral in the Dominican Republic boasts a marble altar from a church in Eindhoven, whilst its former home is being turned into a health center. The steep drop in Dutch religious practice over the past half century has forced many Catholic churches to close, leaving a growing surplus of their religious artwork. Now, with the decline of the faith in Europe and its growth elsewhere, two-thirds of them are found in Latin America, Africa and Asia. [link]