Today, there are new announcements regarding the future of our Archdiocesan parishes and the pastoral care of our fellow Catholics in the city and suburbs! In the following article, “Archdiocese Releases Full List of Church Closures”, we can identify with the mystification felt by clergy and parishioners alike. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to why one particular parish is closed while others remain open.
A recent article I read, “Archdiocese Without A Clear Strategy For Closing Churches”, bears out what many of us believe – closing or merging churches is a stopgap effort to stop the monetary leak in the dyke the Archdiocese is suffering from without regard to the pastoral care of those most in need – the poor and the elderly.
There is something you can do about this. Leave a comment, talk to your fellow parishioners and decide to join us in asking Archbishop Chaput to redo the Area Parish Pastoral Planning Process to include the full participation of the laity in each parish. God bless you!