By John Ruch January 2, 2008

FOREST HILLS—The former St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church complex has been sold to the local Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Bethel AME, currently headquartered on Forest Hills Street, is a large congregation headed by well-known activists Rev. Ray Hammond and Rev. Gloria White-Hammond. The church leadership could not immediately be reached for comment.

Bethel AME presumably will reuse the church building as a church. The nearby Young Achievers Science and Mathematics Pilot School reportedly has been in talks with the congregation about occupying part of the five-building complex.

Local resident Maryetta Dussourd is seeking to have the St. Andrew’s site landmarked and made the site of some type of memorial for its connection to the Catholic Church’s child sexual abuse scandal.

The St. Andrew’s complex at Walk Hill and Wachusett streets is one of many properties sold off by the cash-strapped Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. A deed filed Dec. 17 shows that Bethel AME paid $2.6 million for the property.

See the Jan. 11 Jamaica Plain Gazette for more information.