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	Building on the Good By Tanya Connor Catholic Free Press May 23, 2008 http://catholicfreepress.org/_Pages/_This%20Week/0523Building.html Giving up one's parish for the greater good is a Christ-like act of charity. Father Richard A. Jakubauskas, pastor of St. Casimir Parish in Worcester, was looking at his parish's upcoming closing that way a couple of days after announcing it to parishioners. In his homily at the 7:30 a.m. Mass Tuesday, he mentioned that there are protests and sorrow over closing St. Casimir's, but told parishioners that doing so is "living in charity, not in self-interest." "It'll be a glory for them," he told The Catholic Free Press afterwards. "They're making a big sacrifice. Look at Jesus he gave his life. They have something meaningful to bring to God. We're not asked to give our life, but we do it through our charity. "We have the physical building, but, like Vatican II said, it's the people that are the living stones," he said. When a loved one or in this case a parish dies, "eventually you let it go to God," he said. "They did a lot of good and that's how you move on, whether it's a human death or a physical death like the church. You see that good and keep building on that good. "Hopefully, out of this we can get something that will help the people cope with the loss in a spiritual way to fight for the Church" universal, he said. He said complaints are to be expected; people are hurting, and, as part of the grieving process, they may say things they don't want to say. Father John F. Madden, pastor of St. John Parish where the people of St. Casimir's are being welcomed, wants to acknowledge their pain. After the grieving, he said he is sure they will find a new home at St. John's. The process of grieving a loss and looking forward to a new beginning is being repeated throughout the city since the bishop announced that four Worcester parishes will be closed and merged with other parishes and a fifth church building will be closed. Besides St. Casimir, Holy Name of Jesus Parish, Ascension Parish and St. Margaret Mary Parish will close. Notre Dame des Canadiens Church, which is part of Notre-Dame St. Joseph Parish will also close. A new parish called Holy Family Parish will be established and located at St. Joseph Church on Hamilton Street. It is combining parishes with French-Canadian heritage including Notre-Dame-St. Joseph and Holy Name of Jesus. All assets and liabilities associated with these parishes will transfer to the new Holy Family Parish. All that is to happen quickly. By July 1 all but St. Casimir's will be closed. St. Casimir Church building will remain open for another year for one Sunday Mass in Lithuanian and occasional daily use for funerals. Letters from Bishop McManus announcing the changes were read at the end of each Mass this past weekend. Parts of the letter were tailored to the particular parish affected but the message was the same in each. "For the past year, we have focused attention on the parishes in the City of Worcester," according to the bishop. "In a city with 21,960 registered Catholic households, of which 32 percent provide regular offertory support, we have 28 parishes and missions, operating 29 churches. At any one time, we can seat over 14,000 people in our Worcester churches. In the face of such statistics, it has become evident that the time to reevaluate what is really needed to best serve the Catholics in the city has arrived." (The complete text of the letter is reprinted on Page 8.) Bishop McManus noted that because of declining Mass attendance and little or no religious education or sacramental life that "the spiritual lives of the parishioners would be better served in parishes with a more vibrant pastoral life." The bishop wrote, "These pastoral decisions are never easy, but I am convinced that avoiding them or postponing them any longer is pastorally unsound. I am most grateful to all who participated seriously in this pastoral planning process. Their recommendations sought to respond as closely as possible to the concerns and insights that came from parish focus groups." Ascension Parish and the parishioners will be welcomed back to their mother church, St. John Parish on Temple Street. St. John will assume the assets and liabilities of Ascension parish and St. Casimir. Due to the severely declining size of its congregation and limited parish life, St. Margaret Mary Parish will close and parishioners will be welcomed into St. Anne Parish in Shrewsbury, which many of the parishioners of St. Margaret Mary Parish have indicated as a natural transition. Father Patrick J. Hawthorne, pastor of St. Margaret Mary, said they had no baptisms this year, no first Communions for the coming year, and no weddings last year, this year or next year. Sacramental records, assets and liabilities will go to St. Anne's. Other changes involving currently twinned parishes were also announced. Effective July 1, St. Joan of Arc and St. Bernard Parish will no longer be twinned as a multi-parish pastorate. Father Jose A. Rodriguez has served as pastor to both communities. "Their pastoral experience over these past few years has shown that the two ends of Lincoln Street have specific and unique needs," the bishop said in his letter. Our Lady of Fatima Parish and St. Bernard Parish will become a merged parish effective July 1 to serve the needs of the Catholic community on the lower Lincoln Street and Belmont Hill area, he announced. "I ask that your new parish immediately begin to determine the needs of this newly formed community and determine which of the two churches will be your place of worship by 2010. The social outreach to the neighborhood that is currently centered at St. Bernard Church must be preserved," the bishop stressed. For the last year, St. Catherine of Sweden and Sacred Heart of Jesus Parishes have been twinned sharing one pastor, George J. Riddick. These two parishes are now being asked to work toward merging as one parish by 2010. "As part of that process, I recognize that you must ascertain which of your churches will best serve the needs of a merged parish, including demographic projections in the neighborhoods due to Route 146 construction and Quinsigamond Village development," the bishop said. According to a press release from the diocese, more announcements are expected later this year regarding parishes in Worcester. The bishop anticipates that "after due consultation," additional announcements will be made this fall. The pastoral planning process will continue over the next few years and begin to address other areas of the diocese, particularly other urban areas, as well as plans for growth in surburban areas. "It is fitting to grieve over what we have lost, but hope can be found by looking realistically at what we are today and by eagerly looking forward to what we can become tomorrow. We are members of the Body of Christ, the Church. As such, we are called to bring Christ our hope into a world that needs to be renewed in and through him. May these plans announced to you today fashion a vision for the present and the future that will invigorate the heritage of hope that has been passed on to us," the bishop's letter concludes.
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