SCOTLAND
Christian Today
Ruth Gledhill 09 April 2015
The Catholic Church is facing massive structural reorganisation in Scotland in the face of unprecedented decline in numbers of priests and parishes, according to a pastoral letter to clergy and laity. Numbers of parishes in one diocese could be cut by nearly two-thirds.
The Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, the Most Rev Leo Cushley, warns that the archdiocese is becoming financially unsustainable and is at a turning point. He says “unpleasant” change is ahead.
Two years after he was nominated to the post, succeeding the disgraced Cardinal Keith O’Brien who resigned in the wake of allegations of sexual misconduct, Archbishop Cushley says he has been “taking stock” and the archdiocese now has to face up to the next steps.
Among the causes of decline in the fortunes of God’s people, Archbishop Cushley blames “bad shepherds”. But he says the “gates of hell” will not prevail and cautions against pessimism.
By 2020 the archdiocese will have just 33 diocesan priests to celebrate Mass, he says. Yet there are at present 111 parishes.
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