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	Letter to the Editor: Parish Vigils Nothing If Not Vibrant By Susan Lynch Boston Globe January 23, 2008 http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/letters/articles/2008/01/23/parish_vigils_nothing_if_not_vibrant/ RE "BIG tab still rises at shut churches" (Page A1, Jan. 18): The spokesman for the Archdiocese of Boston says, "We feel these people should come home to the church and be part of vibrant parishes." But members of parishes who are holding vigil in these churches are already part of vibrant parishes - nobody could sustain a round-the-clock vigil for more than three years in anything less than a vibrant parish. If the archdiocese wants to reverse whatever outflow of cash it cites from maintaining parishes in vigil, the answer is simple: Open them officially. They have proved that they can administer themselves; they have repeatedly requested that a priest be made available to celebrate Mass and provide sacraments, but they do not require a full-time, on-site member of the clergy. Since projections show that a shortage of available priests could leave many parishes without a full-time, on-site clergy member, why not learn from these parishes in vigil how to make that scenario work? The archdiocese would be hard-pressed to find more vibrant parishes than the ones that are leading their own prayer services, and revolving their lives around their parish community, and around reaching out to help the poor. These are not one-hour-on-Sunday Catholics - these are committed faith communities.
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