BishopAccountability.org
	Planning Processes Bring Two Parish Closures and One New Parish By Jack Smith The Catholic Key April 4, 2008 http://catholickey.org/index.php3?gif=news.gif&mode=view&issue=20080404&article_id=5022 KANSAS CITY - Bishop Robert W. Finn has accepted the recommendations of planning studies calling for the merger of two parishes into neighboring parishes and the creation of a new parish in Platte City. St. Raphael in Kansas City will close as a parish on June 30 with its territory assumed by St. Gabriel Archangel. St. Aloysius Parish in northeast Kansas City will close as a parish on April 28 with its territory assumed by St. Anthony of Padua Parish. Previously scheduled special liturgical celebrations will continue at St. Aloysius until June 1. Official decrees concerning the closures can be found on page 5 of The Catholic Key. Following a lengthy collaborative process, a Pastoral Plan for Parishes and Schools in the Northland was approved last May. Facilitated by Meitler Consultants of Wisconsin, the plan noted significant population growth in Clay and Platte Counties which is expected to continue. Among other provisions, the plan called for the creation of a new parish in Platte City. The current Mass Station in Platte City served by Holy Trinity in Weston will be officially established as Twelve Apostles Parish on May 3. A decree erecting the parish will be printed in a future edition of The Catholic Key after parish boundaries are established. All of the affected parishes were informed of the changes at Masses on March 29-30. The closure of St. Raphael was previously announced with the promulgation of the Northland Plan last May. The plan gave a five-year outside timeline for the closure of the parish. In deciding to close St. Raphael, the plan noted that only 200 families are registered in the parish in an area not experiencing growth. "With fewer priests in the future," the report said, "maintaining St. Raphael . would not be the best stewardship of priest personnel." In a letter to St. Raphael administrator Father Justin Hoye announcing the closure date, Bishop Finn noted parish leadership had indicated "that we are approaching an appropriate time for the completion of the work of the parish." Parishioners at St. Raphael will encounter familiar clergy at St. Gabriel, as Fr. Hoye is also associate pastor there and St. Gabriel Pastor Father Alexander Sinclair is immediate past pastor of St. Raphael. While maintaining his role as Holy Trinity pastor, Father Charles Rowe, STD, will become the founding pastor of Twelve Apostles Parish. "Establishing a new parish involves a lot of work and venturing into uncharted territory - at least for me," Fr. Rowe said. One of the big challenges is creating a community identity for Twelve Apostles, Fr. Rowe said, but efforts are already under way. A steering committee for the envisioned parish was created last summer, as well as a building committee. Already, architects have been chosen to develop a master plan for the 20-acre campus of Twelve Apostles located on 136th Street west of N Highway. The creation of a religious education program at Platte City last fall has "helped create a distinct identity as a community for Twelve Apostles," Fr. Rowe said. The choice of a parish name was done by ballot, Fr. Rowe said. The overwhelming preference was for Twelve Apostles, the name of a Catholic church constructed in Platte City in 1871 and demolished in 1935. The decision to close St. Aloysius came about from a separate Pastoral Plan for Parishes and Schools in Deanery 3. In letters to St. Aloysius administrator Mr. Anthony Caudillo and St. Anthony pastor Father Joseph Cisetti dated March 26, Bishop Finn indicated he had accepted the recommendations of the plan, and agreed to an April 28 closing date for St. Aloysius. In his column this week (page 4), Bishop Finn wrote that while the decisions to close St. Raphael and St. Aloysius "are well thought out and responsible decisions, it is always difficult to see the life of a parish come to its completion." The announcement of a closure date was made at Masses on March 29-30. "The people have known about this for a long time. It wasn't a shock," Christian Brother James Krause, pastoral associate at St. Aloysius said. "People are at different stages, of course, but most are resigned," he said. St. Anthony pastor Father Joseph Cisetti and St. Anthony parishioners have been making welcoming overtures to the parishioners at St. Aloysius, Brother James explained. This Sunday, Fr. Cisetti and St. Anthony parishioners will be giving receptions after Masses at St. Aloysius so the two communities can meet each other. Fr. Cisetti has visited St. Aloysius a number of times, Brother James said, "to make overtures and also to acknowledge the fact that this is not easy." The two parishes have been planning for the final transition, Brother James said. On the final Sunday, April 27, St. Aloysius parishioners will make a procession to St. Anthony, "and there will be a delegation to greet us," he said. In addition, the statues of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Aloysius will be brought to St. Anthony. The plan for Deanery 3, also facilitated by Meitler Consultants, conducted a full demographic study and engaged the input of a large audience before issuing its recommendations for parishes and schools in northeast Kansas City. The demographic study found that Deanery 3 had more parishes serving fewer Catholics in a smaller area than anywhere else in the diocese. The poor position of parish finances, the shortage of priests and the difficulty in finding bi-lingual priests also factored into the decision to close a parish. In choosing to recommend closure of St. Aloysius, the report considered that the parish is the Deanery's smallest church on the smallest property with the highest proportion of non-Catholics in its canonical territory. The Pastoral Plan for Parishes and Schools in Deanery 3 is a comprehensive look at the needs of the Catholic community throughout northeast Kansas City with recommendations for schools, parishes, Hispanic Ministry and other services. A full report on the recommendations of the plan will be featured in the next edition of The Catholic Key.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.