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	Worcester Parishes to Get News Closings, Mergings to Be Announced Catholic Free Press May 16, 2008 http://catholicfreepress.org/_Pages/_This%20Week/0516WorcParishes.html Catholics in Worcester will find out this weekend the future of their particular parish. A letter from Bishop McManus is to be read at all Masses in the 29 city churches. The bishop will outline the first phase of reconfiguration of parishes in the city, which will include some parish closings. "The bishop wanted to deliver the news first to the people through their pastor," said Raymond L. Delisle, director of the Office for Communications, vice-chancellor, and member of two panels involved in the so-called pastoral planning process. "In letters to those parishes most immediately affected by the changes, the bishop will address in greater detail his decisions and the process which has led to those decisions," Mr. Delisle said in a press release. No details were given to The Catholic Free Press. For the past year, the diocesan Pastoral Planning Committee has been working with parishes in the city assessing their viability. Decisions regarding the future status of a parish are the result of recommendations that were made by the planning committee. "I am deeply grateful to the pastors, their parishioners, the Diocesan Pastoral Planning Committee, and the Diocesan Pastoral Council for conducting this process of self-evaluation," said Bishop McManus in the press release. "Making a decision to close, merge or alter a parish's status in any way can be very upsetting for parishioners. We have reached a point in our diocesan history, however, where, not addressing the current vitality and viability of parishes is simply not a pastorally acceptable course of action." Last week the bishop met with pastors in the city for any final input. This past Monday, he presented his recommendations to the Presbyteral Council (the canonical council of priests for the Diocese of Worcester) for their vote. The recommendations were approved and are to be presented to the people this weekend. (A story with the particulars about the reconfiguration can be found Monday morning on The Catholic Free Press Web site, www.catholicfreepress.org.) Bishop McManus met with Worcester priests in the fall of 2006 to begin the process in the city. They discussed concerns about parish viability and vitality, needs of laity and priests and use of limited resources in the face of changing demographics, increasing bills, insufficient contributions, eroding buildings and a shrinking and aging population of priests. A sub-committee of the Pastoral Planning Committee developed a self-assessment tool for the city parishes which was distributed to pastors in June of 2007. The summary question of the self-assessment tool was: "Is your parish viable enough to survive into the future?" With the assistance of the diocesan Pastoral Council, teams of visitors met with parish focus groups to clarify and review the data in these reports. This process was concluded shortly before Easter. The diocesanwide pastoral planning process began in the fall of 2002 with the creation of a committee to study the issue. Noting the aging population of priests, decline in seminary enrollment, and demographic changes in Worcester County, Bishop Reilly established the diocesan Pastoral Planning Committee. The committee was charged with assessing the viability and vibrancy of the parishes. In order to ascertain these attributes, the committee developed a Parish Self-Assessment Guide. The guides were distributed in the spring of 2003. Based on the results, the committee formed 44 clusters from the 127 parishes and missions. The parishes were encouraged to use the cluster concept to address resource issues and to strengthen the various ministries within their cluster. In the fall of 2004, clusters were asked to consider how they would provide pastoral care with one less priest in their cluster. While this approach was reasonable for the broad geographic area of the diocese, Mr. Delisle said in a press release, a certain number of high population/density areas such as the cities of Worcester, Fitchburg, and Southbridge required a different approach. Dwindling populations, aging facilities, and accumulating debt, as well as the clergy shortage, pointed toward the necessity of parish reduction and consolidation, he said. The Fitchburg parishes are still in the process. But in Southbridge, where there are four churches, Father Leo-Paul J. LeBlanc, pastor of Notre Dame Parish in Southbridge, also became administrator of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish there last June. Also last June, Father George J. Ridick, pastor of St. Catherine of Sweden Parish, became pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, Worcester. In 2006, Msgr. Francis J. Scollen, pastor of St. Peter Parish in Worcester, took on St. Andrew the Apostle Parish as a mission. The same year, Father Dennis J. O'Brien, pastor of St. Theresa, the Little Flower Parish in Harvard, was made pastor of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Bolton and Father Edward Michalski, became administrator of St. Aloysius Parish in Gilbertville and its returning mission, St. Augustine in Wheelwright. Father Thomas M. Tokarz, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Gardner, also became pastor Holy Spirit Parish there in 2006. Father Jos A. Rodriguez, pastor of St. Joan of Arc Parish in Worcester, became pastor of St. Bernard's too. Father Tomasz J. Borkowski, pastor of Our Lady of Jasna Gora Parish in Clinton, began pastoring Our Lady of the Rosary Parish. Earlier, Father Frank J. Liistro, pastor of Madonna of the Holy Rosary Parish took on the administration of Sacred Heart in Fitchburg. Alternate models for staffing are in effect around the diocese. They include: a multi-parish pastorate at St. Pius X and St. Joseph parishes in Leicester; St. Denis and St. Anne parishes in Ashburnham; St. Mary, Brookfield and Sacred Heart of Jesus, West Brookfield; St. Paul and St. Stanislaus in Warren; Immaculate Heart of Mary in Winchendon and St. Vincent de Paul in Baldwinville; a multi-parish team at Our Lady Immaculate and St. Francis of Assisi parishes in Athol, St. Peter Parish in Petersham and Our Lady Queen of Heaven Mission in South Royalston; and missions such as St. Martin Mission of Otter River linked to Holy Cross in East Templeton; and St. Augustine Mission, Wheelwright with St. Aloysius in Gilbertville; and the merged parish of Mary, Queen of the Rosary Parish in Spencer. Members of the Pastoral Planning Committee include Father Michael Rose, Father Michael Foley, James Fraser, Frank Kartheiser, Elizabeth Marcil (co-chair), Lori Pandiscio, Father Rocco Piccolomini (co-chair), Deacon Anthony Surozenski, Raymond Delisle, Msgr. Thomas Sullivan, Msgr. F. Stephen Pedone. Members of the Pastoral Council include Roberta Adams, Deacon Paul Audette, Edward Clasby, Raymond Delisle, Fanny Escobar, James Frasier, Robert Gazaille, Mr. Paul Grautski, William Hobey, Ph.D., Wayne Jyringi, Lisa LeBlanc, Denise MacAloney, Lori Pandiscio (Chair), Dwain Robbins, Robert Stiles, Esq., William Trainor, Esq., Sister Mary Rose Zaccari, Dr. John Zawacki.
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