BishopAccountability.org
	Breaking News: Parishes Plan Gets First Airing By Laura Legere The Times-Tribune January 31, 2009 http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/articles/2009/01/31/news/doc49851d999ab9f953128896.txt SCRANTON -- The fates of Roman Catholic churches throughout the 11-county Diocese of Scranton were broadcast through speakers in sanctuaries across the region Saturday night, as pastors played audio messages from Bishop Joseph F. Martino outlining which of their churches will close. In Lackawanna County, the consolidations will eventually pare 58 parishes into fewer than 30, although some churches slated for consolidation will be able to hold occasional Masses and services for years into the future. In his message to parishioners, Bishop Martino emphasized that changing economics, demographics and a dwindling number of priests combined to force a change in how the diocese is organized. “Our churches and schools have operated for so many years, can’t we just leave well enough alone?” he asked, channeling the voices of parishioners who question the need to change. “Unfortunately, many of our institutions are not well enough,” he said. The changes will be felt in municipalities across the county. Consolidations that will begin in July and extend into 2012 will eventually leave one church instead of two in Carbondale, one church instead of three in Throop and one church instead of three in Olyphant. Two churches, St. Mary of the Assumption and St. John the Evangelist, will be closed in Scranton’s South Side. Two others, St. Francis of Assisi and Holy Name of Jesus, will be open for a Sunday Mass and the occasional wedding or funeral, but even that status will be subject to future review, the bishop said. In Taylor, the two Catholic churches will be closed by July 2010, and the parishes will be merged with St. Joseph in Scranton’s Minooka section. Jessup’s three churches will be consolidated into a single site, with a secondary worship space open temporarily. At Holy Family Church in the city, E.J. Dougher sat with his children and his mother, an organist at the church for 40 years, as they listened to the bishop’s message. Outside, after the Mass, they gathered on the cold front steps of the church, which will close by July 2010. “We always met our goals here. We were never in debt,” Mr. Dougher said, shaking his head. Like his daughters, he had been baptized in the church. “It’s really, really difficult,” he said. The announcements, which will continue at Masses today, cap a yearlong process of planning for change. Bishop Martino made his decisions after consulting with lay and ordained parish leaders as well as a diocese-wide planning commission. In 2008, parish leaders formed 50 groups of churches, comprising all 224 of the current parishes in the diocese, to begin working together to determine how to reorganize to best fit the future of their parishes. The groups had to decide to consolidate several parishes into one, link parishes with a shared pastor, or partner to share programs and resources with other parishes. A diocese-wide planning commission responded to those recommendations in July, many times by asking for tighter cuts and more consolidation than the parishes requested. In the six months since those preliminary recommendations were released, parishes and the planning commission reconsidered their recommendations and submitted them to Bishop Martino for the final decision. At St. Mary of the Assumption in Scranton on Saturday, word of that decision stung, even if it was not a complete surprise. Monsignor Dale Rupert walked over to turn off the CD player and made a short comment after the bishop’s message. “I know this is very sad to hear and that nothing I say can take away this sadness,” he said. “But the faith in Jesus Christ we all share will strengthen us.” Pondering her church’s closure, Joan Winters looked at the new stained glass windows and the modern, elegant altar of the recently renovated church building where she marked every milestone of her life. She doubts she will have the same sense of belonging and connectedness at a different parish. “I will still go to church, but it will be whichever church is convenient,” she said. “It is true that the people are the church. I grew up with these people here.” After the bishop’s voice announced St. John the Baptist in Taylor will close by July 2010, the Rev. Francis Pauselli told parishioners there that he believes the decision is the best possible situation for the region. He said a combined Christmas Eve Mass held at Riverside Junior-Senior High School showed that “when a lot of people come together, the community is more vibrant and more active and can provide many more opportunities for people living now and for those who will follow after us.” He added that he appreciates the sadness some might feel at news their parish is closing, but that these are “changing” and “difficult” times. “The Catholic Church is trying to face them in the best way that they can.” The fluctuating number of Catholics in the county reinforces the difficulty of the times. Nearly a third of the Catholics in the diocese live in Lackawanna County, according to the official Catholic directory produced by the regional church. But between 1970 — when the diocese had more than double the number of priests than today — and 2000, the county lost 24,000 Catholics, dropping to 106,069. During the same period, the population of Catholics in Monroe and Pike counties increased by between 350 and 400 percent, to 38,893 and 7,849, respectively. As of 2007, the diocese was home to 340,390 Catholics overall. Meanwhile, the number of priests in the diocese has continued to drop. There are 188 active priests, but the diocese predicts that number will shrink to 147 by 2012 and only 112 by 2017. Parishioners braced against the cold outside St. Mary of Czestochowa in Eynon on Saturday night acknowledged that a change had to happen. “They have to do what they have to do,” said Gloria Dulski, who has belonged to the church since she was baptized there 58 years ago. “In your heart and in your head, we know what has to be done.” Additional reporting was done by David Falchek, Shari Sanger, Matt Vita, Lisa Zaccagnino, Ashley Teatum, Cecilia Baress and Bob Gelik. * * * Below is a preliminary list of Scranton-area Catholic parish reorganization, as announced at Masses on Saturday and compiled by Times-Tribune staffers. The changes are listed by clusters. Information for cluster 13 parishes in Wayne and Susquehanna counties will be published with the full, official list in Monday’s edition. THE MODELS Changes were made according to four models previously identified by the Diocese of Scranton: * Model One: Consolidated parishes. Two or more parishes come together to form one new parish. A new name is given to the parish, which may be a brand new name or a combination of the former parish names. Usually the new parish has one worship site, but permission may be given for several worship sites for a limited time period. * Model Two: Linked parishes. Two or more parishes share a pastor. They do as many things as possible cooperatively, especially given that the pastor/administrator is striving to serve two or more separate parishes. * Model Three: Partnership parishes. Parishes enter into partnerships to create joint programs, share staff to enhance the quality of ministry and practice good stewardship of resources, or share in-services or retreats from parish pastoral councils, finance councils or parish committees. * Model Four: Pastors in solidum (team). Two or more priests work as a team and serve three or more parishes. The priests often work closely with deacons and lay people as part of a pastoral team. THE LIST * CLUSTER 1 PARISHES: St. Ann, SS. Peter & Paul, St. Lucy, St. Patrick and St. Michael, Scranton. DECISIONS: All parishes will partner beginning in July, sharing resources such as RCIA, youth groups and adult religious formation. St. Lucy’s and SS. Peter and Paul will remain linked parishes, with consolidation reevaluated in 2011. St. Michael’s and St. Patrick’s will be consolidated, with the main parish site at St. Patrick’s. The IHM chapel site will be reviewed after two years. * CLUSTER 2 PARISHES: St. John the Baptist, Taylor; Immaculate Conception, Taylor; St. Joseph, Minooka (Scranton); St. Mary of Czestochowa, Greenwood. DECISIONS: St. John the Baptist, Immaculate Conception and St. Mary will consolidate at St. Joseph no later than July 2010, with the first three buildings closing. * CLUSTER 3 PARISHES: Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, Scranton; St. John the Evangelist, Scranton; Nativity of Our Lord, Scranton; St. Mary of the Assumption, Scranton; Holy Name of Jesus, Scranton; St. Francis, Scranton. DECISIONS: St. Mary of the Assumption and Holy Name of Jesus will consolidate at Nativity by July 2011, by which time St. Mary will close. Holy Name will remain open for a Sunday Mass and occasional weddings and funerals pending future review. St. Francis and St. John will consolidate at Sacred Hearts by July 2011, by which time St. John will close. St. Francis will remain open for a Sunday Mass and occasional weddings and funerals pending future review. * CLUSTER 4 PARISHES: Our Lady of the Abingtons, Dalton; Our Lady of the Snows, Clarks Summit; St. Gregory, Clarks Green; St. Patrick, Nicholson. DECISIONS: Partnership between Our Lady of the Abingtons, Our Lady of the Snows, St. Gregory and St. Patrick no later than July. St. Patrick and Our Lady of the Abingtons will link no later than July 2010, with the linkage reviewed after three years. * CLUSTER 5 PARISHES: St. Peter’s Cathedral, Scranton; Immaculate Conception, Scranton; Holy Family, Scranton; St. Paul, Scranton; St. Clare, Scranton; Christ the King, Dunmore; St. Thomas More Society, Scranton. DECISIONS: A partnership among churches in the cluster will be in place no later than July. Immaculate Conception will consolidate with Christ the King by July 2010, with Christ the King closing. Holy Family will link with St. Peter’s by July 2009; and consolidate at St. Peter’s and close Holy Family by July 2010. St. Clare will consolidate at St. Paul by July 2010; it will remain open as an additional worship site for one weekend Mass and occasional funerals and weddings, with review by 2012. * CLUSTER 6 PARISHES: St. Mary, Old Forge; St. Lawrence O’Toole, Old Forge; St. Michael, Old Forge. DECISION: Information unavailable Saturday. * CLUSTER 7 PARISHES: St. Mary of Mount Carmel, Dunmore; St. Casimir, Dunmore; All Saints, Dunmore; St. Anthony, Dunmore; St. Rocco, Dunmore. DECISIONS: A partnership among the parishes will be established by July. St. Casimir and All Saints will consolidate at St. Mary of Mt. Carmel by July 2011, with the first two buildings closing. St. Rocco will will consolidate at St. Anthony by July 2011 and close. * CLUSTER 8 PARISHES: St. Catherine of Siena, Moscow, and St. Eulalia, Elmhurst. DECISIONS: Churches in cluster 8 will create a partnership by July. * CLUSTER 9 PARISHES: St. Thomas Aquinas, Archbald; St. Mary of Czestochowa, Eynon; Sacred Heart of Jesus, Mayfield; Sacred Heart of Mary, Jermyn. DECISIONS: A partnership among parishes in the cluster will be in place no later than July. St. Mary will consolidate at St. Thomas Aquinas by July 2010. St. Mary will remain open only as a second worship site for a single weekend Mass and occasional funerals and weddings, with review by July 2012. Sacred Heart of Jesus, Mayfield, will consolidate at Sacred Heart of Mary, Jermyn, by July 2010 and close. * CLUSTER 10 PARISHES: St. Michael, Olyphant; St. Patrick, Olyphant; Holy Ghost, Olyphant; Visitation of Blessed Virgin Mary, Dickson City; St. John the Baptist, Throop; St. Anthony, Throop; St. Bridget, Throop. DECISIONS: Beginning in July, the seven churches in cluster 10 will enter into a partnership. The three Olyphant churches — St. Patrick, Holy Ghost and St. Michael Archangel — will consolidate at St. Patrick by July 2010, with Holy Ghost and St. Michael closing. * CLUSTER 11 PARISHES: Sacred Heart, Peckville; St. James, Jessup; St. Michael, Jessup; St. Mary’s Assumption, Jessup. DECISIONS: Partnership between Sacred Heart of Jesus and the three Jessup churches by July. The three Jessup churches will consolidate at St. Michael, with St. James to close by 2010. Occasional Masses will continue at St. Mary’s, with a review after two years. * CLUSTER 12 PARISHES: Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Carbondale; Corpus Christi, Montdale; St. Rose of Lima, Carbondale; St. Pius X, Royal (Clifford); St. Michael, Simpson. DECISIONS: Our Lady of Mount Carmel will stay open for at least three years, with eventual consolidation at St. Rose. St. Michael will consolidate with St. Rose and Our Lady beginning in July, but will remain open as a secondary worship site for occasional weddings, funerals and Masses. Further information for the cluster was unavailable Saturday. * CLUSTER 14 PARISHES: Holy Rosary, Scranton; St. Joseph (Lithuanian), Scranton; St. Anthony of Padua, Scranton. DECISIONS: St. Joseph and St. Anthony will consolidate at Holy Rosary by July 2011, with the first two buildings closing.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.