BishopAccountability.org
	Melding of Parishes Urged Laconia Citizen April 7, 2008 http://www.citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080407/GJNEWS02/496149590/-1/CITNEWS A proposal to consolidate several Catholic parishes in central New Hampshire is being forwarded to a special diocesan committee which advises Bishop John McCormack on such matters. Under the proposal, Laconia's three parishes — St. Joseph, Sacred Heart, and Our Lady of the Lakes — would be consolidated into one parish which would be served by two priests. Masses and other services would continue to be held in all of the three existing parish churches under the plan endorsed by the cluster of local parishes which consists of St. Joseph in Belmont, St. Mary of the Assumption in Tilton, St. Paul in Franklin, in addition to the three Laconia parishes. The Tilton and Franklin parishes would be consolidated under the proposal, while the Belmont parish would remain unchanged. The plan now goes to the diocese's Long Range Planning Commission — an eight-member panel made up of clergy and laypeople — which will review the proposal before making its recommendation which will then be forwarded to McCormack who will make the final decision. The proposal will also be referred to the Rev. Dennis Audet, head of the Laconia Deanery and pastor of St. Charles Parish in Meredith, for his input. The basics of the proposal were announced at Masses this weekend in the six affected parishes. A forum to give parishioners a chance to comment on the proposed changes will be schedule some time in the future. If McCormack accepts the proposed changes, they still might not take effect for many months. According to the diocese Website the bishop could implement the changes "some time between now and 2012 depending on a number of circumstances." Due largely to the dwindling number of priests, the diocese has been consolidating and/or closing parishes around the state for the past several years. According to the diocese, there were 130 parishes across the state in 1999. As of last October that number was down to 102. In central New Hampshire that trend has already affected the parishes in Plymouth, Ashland and Bristol, which have been consolidated into one parish, though Masses and other services continue to be held in the three churches.
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