BishopAccountability.org
	Plan May Close More Churches By Jack Flynn The Republican August 19, 2009 http://www.masslive.com/metrowest/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-21/125066613832520.xml&coll=1 SPRINGFIELD - The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield is preparing for the third and possibly most contentious stage of a reorganization that will reshape parishes across the Pioneer Valley for decades. Within the next month, Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell is expected to announce church closings for parishes in Springfield, Holyoke, Chicopee, Palmer, Ware and Hampshire County. A reorganization plan drawn up by the Pastoral Planning Committee was submitted to McDonnell earlier this month, and should receive his approval in the next two or three weeks, according to Msg. John J. Bonzagni, director of planning for the diocese. Officials would not release details of the proposal. "The intent is to get this out as quickly as possible, without being too rash," said Bonzagni. More than a dozen parishes have been closed or folded into others during the past 18 months, part of a four-year consolidation driven by declining church membership, financial hardships and a shortage of priests. Churches in Agawam, West Springfield, Pittsfield, Adams, South Deerfield and Montague were among those shuttered in the first two phases of the reorganization. The next phase will involve parishes in the most densely populated parts of the diocese, where members have had several years to worry about their fate. The announcement of the closings will be made at Sunday Mass, following the formula used in previous closings, said Mark E. Dupont, a diocese spokesman. "These parishes have been waiting a long time," said Dupont. "I hear it (concern about possible closing) across the board. Even if your church is not closed or merged, you will be getting new parishioners. "Every parish will feel the impact of this," Dupont added. Reaction to the closings have ranged from grief and grudging resignation in most communities to defiance in Adams, where parishioners of St. Stanislaus Kostka staged a vigil and appealed to the Vatican. In Agawam, the closing of St. Therese and St. Anthony Churches last year were difficult for parishioners to accept. One, Anthony C. Bonavita, said that losing your parish seems unfair, even given the explanations offered by church officials. "It's not like you can stand up and vote; it's not a very democratic process," said Bonavita, a lawyer. Dupont said such reactions are understandable, given the important role that parishes have played the communities. "People grieve the loss of a parish," Dupont said. The reorganization panel has been partly guided by a study by the Center for Economic Development at the University of Massachusetts, which examined the operations of dioceses in the four western counties in the state.
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