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	With Report in Hand, Bishop Evaluates Diocese's Future By Monetta L. Jackson Citizen Patriot July 10, 2008 http://blog.mlive.com/citpat/2008/07/with_report_in_hand_bishop_eva.html LANSING — Two months into his new position, Bishop Earl Boyea is confident the 10-county Lansing Catholic Diocese, which includes Jackson, will emerge stronger, more vibrant and holier from a three-year period of self-examination. The product of that study — a report that is a composite of information and feedback gathered from parishes, schools and other entities — reached Boyea's desk Tuesday. Boyea has the power to make changes in the diocese based on the report, but in an interview Wednesday he said he wasn't ready to say what moves he will make. Some changes will be immediate, he said, others will take several years to implement. At issue is whether any parishes or schools will close because of a shortage of priests and a shifting Catholic population in the diocese. The commission that prepared the report has met monthly for 39 months. "It would be foolish for me not to accept their judgment," he said. "I think they have done more than a thorough job. I couldn't believe when I read that 94 out of 97 parishes contributed to it." Besides parish or school closures, consolidation options will be considered, he said. This could mean staggering Mass schedules so priests can say Mass at several parishes over a weekend. Also, several parishes could be directed to function under a single parish council or religious-education program, to lessen the workload for the 100-plus priests who are serving 97 parishes. Boyea, 57, said "not everyone will be happy with changes but because this was such a great process, they will accept it." He has been through this process before, in his previous assignment as auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Detroit. In the region he oversaw, two parishes were closed and 20 were consolidated into six. It is a process almost all Catholic dioceses are doing across the country, as they see a drop in the number of worshippers. Protestant faiths are dealing with similar issues. There are many reasons for it, Boyea believes — from not reaching young Catholics with a strong enough catechism, to a sense of entitlement and even an underlying sense of anger among many today. "People don't know the implications of a belief in God. It implies a certain focus of behavior that people don't know and don't understand, and we need to do a better job informing them. Too many people view Sunday as 'what do I get out of this?' rather than 'if you believe in God, you owe God worship.' That connection has been broken," he said. As part of that, Boyea wants Catholic education to be more affordable, perhaps by asking parishes to create scholarship programs. Boyea is from a family of 10 children and his parents could only afford to send the oldest five to Catholic schools. He was one of the younger five. Boyea said only 15 percent to 20 percent of American Catholic school children attend parochial schools, largely because of the expense. Meanwhile, he said he sees many positives in the diocese, including the "excellent" lay minister preparation and its class of 40 seminarians. "No priest could run a parish the way it was 40 or 50 years ago, and even if we had a hundred more priests, we would still need lay ministers," Boyea said. "They are part of the blessing of the post-Vatican II Council." Boyea described the changes since the Second Vatican Council in 1962-65 as "a minor miracle. I think it is the work of the Holy Spirit, absolutely. The Holy Spirit is in all of us to change the whole world. We need to start one step at a time, one day at a time." As he follows his faith journey, Boyea said, "God did not ask me to take on this role because I'm perfect or will make all the right decisions. All God has asked me to do is my best."
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