Notre Dame Parishioners Deserve Answers

Daily Times
June 5, 2014

http://www.delcotimes.com/opinion/20140603/editorial-notre-dame-parishioners-deserve-answers


After enduring many years of parish grade school closures being an annual event, Roman Catholics in Delaware County now must face the annual prospect of seeing entire parishes closed.

Archdiocesan officials prefer to euphemistically refer to them as “mergers” since the disenfranchised parishioners are advised to attend the nearest surviving parish. But the reality is, their parishes no longer exist in name or in their neighborhoods. Their churches are merely “worship sites.”

It is part of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Parish Planning Initiative proposed in 2010 by former Philadelphia archbishop, Cardinal Justin Rigali, to determine parish sustainability in the five-county region. Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput started implementing the initiative in 2011, but Delaware County’s then-46 parishes did not starting coming under the microscope until fall of 2012. Last year five Delaware County parishes were closed. Three more are targeted this year, bringing the number of parishes for Delaware County’s more than 200,000 Roman Catholics down to 38.

Parishioners and their pastors are expected to engage in “self-studies” and assess their parishes’ fitness for survival as part of the initiative. The regional bishop and the dean usually meet with the pastors as well as their pastoral and finance councils to hear their recommendations. The Archdiocesan Strategic Planning Committee shares all final proposals with the Council of Priests and the College of Consultors for their review before final approval by the archbishop.

Factors considered include shifts in Catholic populations, concentrated density of parishes in a limited geographic area, history of declining Mass attendance and receiving of the sacraments, economic challenges, facilities and availability of clergy.

Last weekend parishioners at St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the Essington section of Tinicum, Holy Spirit in Sharon Hill and Notre Dame de Lourdes in Ridley Township were told that their parishes are to close by July 1. They are expected to become part of St. Gabriel’s in Norwood, St. George’s in Glenolden and Our Lady of Peace in the Milmont Park section of Ridley Township, respectively. Whether they choose to attend those parishes or not, their current parish assets, debts, and sacramental records will be transferred.

Six Montgomery County parishes, five Bucks County parishes and two Philadelphia parishes are also being ordered by the archbishop to close by July 1. Chester County, which experienced parish closures in 2012 and 2013, has been spared this time around, most likely because of increasing population in parts of Chester County.

Archdiocesan officials maintain in a prepared statement: “This process, known as Parish Area Pastoral Planning, is designed to be as collaborative and consultative as possible.”

While parishioners at all three Delaware County parishes targeted for closure are saddened by the announcement, those at Notre Dame de Lourdes and their pastor, the Rev. Karl Zeuner, are actually in shock. They did not recommend merging with Our Lady of Peace. Reportedly, the Rev. Robert Feeney, pastor of Our Lady of Peace parish, is also mystified by the archbishop’s directive.

Our Lady of Peace has fewer parishioners than Notre Dame, fewer baptisms and is reportedly $400,000 in debt while Notre Dame is financially solvent and just received a $1 million donation from a parishioner. Our Lady of Peace Grade School was closed in 2009, while Notre Dame’s school continues to thrive -- plus the archdiocese’s Catholic Social Services just built a Don Guanella community residence next door for eight developmentally disabled men.

So what gives with the archbishop’s decision to shutter a perfectly healthy parish such as Notre Dame? Does he have other plans for the property, possibly another Don Guanella community residence, or just the desire to sell the lucrative real estate upon which the parish buildings sit?

That’s what Notre Dame parishioners, who are petitioning Chaput to keep their parish open, are trying to find out. They say they are getting nowhere. It would behoove him to be transparent about all decisions affecting parishioners especially at a time when Roman Catholics are trying to recover from the cloud of secrecy that enabled clerical sexual abuse to fester for decades.

To just keep repeating the standard “one parish would be sufficient” explanation doesn’t really answer Notre Dame parishioners’ questions. It is enough to shake one’s faith in the church.