MASSACHUSETTS
Cape Tod Times
By SEAN GONSALVES
STAFF WRITER
As Catholics around the world contemplate the legacy of Pope John Paul II and reflect on the future of the church, Catholic parishes on the Cape are vibrant - and growing.
Of the state's 3 million Catholics - roughly half the population of Massachusetts - 116,000 of them live on Cape Cod, according to Fall River Diocese officials.
Led by Bishop George W. Coleman, former pastor of Corpus Christi Parish in Sandwich, the Fall River Diocese encompasses 1,194 square miles in Southeastern Massachusetts and represents approximately 350,000 parishioners.
Of the diocese's 101 parishes, 22 are on the Cape and islands.
And while the church's teaching on certain moral issues and fallout from the clergy sex-abuse scandal has brought a dip in church attendance in recent years, the Cape has been a growth region for the Fall River Diocese, church officials say.
Posted by kshaw at April 4, 2005 08:59 AM