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	Camden Bishop to Announce Parish Mergers, Closings By Elaine Rose Press of Atlantic City March 28, 2008 http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/186/story/118276.html CAMDEN - Southern New Jersey Catholics will know Thursday whether their parishes will remain intact or they will be driving a bit farther to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days, the diocese said Friday. Bishop Joesph Galante will announce his decision regarding mergers and closings of parishes early Thursday afternoon, diocese spokesman Andrew Walton said Friday. Those who have access to a computer can see a video of the bishop's announcement at 1:30 p.m. at the diocesan Web site, www.camdendiocese.org. The Catholic Star Herald will publish the text of the bishop's message Friday. The announcement will be the culmination of more than a year of planning, as the church deals with limited financial resources, a shortage of priests and changing demographics of southern New Jersey Catholics. The idea was to find the best way to use the church's resources to serve the needs of Catholics in the diocese. Each of the 124 parishes in six counties of the diocese sent representatives to meetings of regional councils, where they reviewed data on things such as population, church attendance, finances and facilities. The committees submitted their recommendations last May, diocesan staff reviewed them over the summer and sent them back to the committees for revision. About 40 percent of the committees recommended that parishes be merged, another 25 percent opted to keep the one-parish, one-priest model, 30 percent suggested one priest should serve a cluster of parishes, and the rest recommended a mixture of the above, Walton said last year. But the ultimate decision is up to Galante. A similar process was conducted last year for Catholic schools in the diocese. Galante announced in November that St. Augustine School in Ocean City would close its doors, and that Blessed Sacrament in Margate would merge with St. James School in Ventnor. Parents at Blessed Sacrament tried to persuade the bishop to delay the merger, but in the end, it took place as scheduled. To e-mail Elaine Rose at The Press: ERose@pressofac.com
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