BishopAccountability.org
	Diocese Closing Churches By Stephanie Barry The Republic August 28, 2009 http://www.masslive.com/metrowest/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-21/1251445544199150.xml&coll=1 Fourteen Roman Catholic churches in Hampden and Hampshire counties will go dark by the end of the year, officials of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield said Thursday. Details of closures will be presented at weekend Masses. Eight more churches are expected to close within the coming months or within two years through a series of mergers. The closings will be scattered across the two counties, but will likely be more concentrated in communities where churches are densely packed. Diocesan officials, speaking at a press conference, said the closures are an unavoidable result of declining numbers of Catholics and population shifts. Leaders of a pastoral planning committee have been signaling for months that the end will be coming for several parishes. However, they will not release the final results to parishioners until Saturday afternoon Masses. Parish priests will read personal letters to each of more than 50 congregations from the Most Rev. Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell, informing them of the fate of their churches. McDonnell met with parish priests this week. He will deliver a televised address just after 7 p.m. on Saturday. Msgr. John J. Bonzagni, director of pastoral planning for the diocese, told reporters the final results were yielded by an arduous scrutiny of parishes in five districts over four years. "Listening sessions" bringing together clergy, lay personnel and parishioners led to a series of committees poring over the results and a final report being presented to McDonnell about three weeks ago.
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