New York archdiocese planning new parish closings
November 19, 2013
The Archdiocese of New York is planning a new round of parish closings, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The archdiocese, which closed 27 parishes in 2007, now has 368 parishes. Church officials are studying a new reorganization, which will probably involve more parish closings, the Journal reports. Decisions on which parishes will close are likely to be made next year.
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Further information:
- Archdiocese Moves to Close Parishes (Wall Street Journal)
- New York Archdiocese Planning Some Parish Closures (AP)
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Posted by: Defender -
Nov. 20, 2013 7:49 PM ET USA
Chalking it up to people leaving is rather simplistic, perhaps they are still there but the archdiocese hasn't been doing a good job in retaining parishioners? Does anyone remember parish calls, where the priests would visit everyone (eventually) in their parish? When has anyone heard a real sermon on Sundays? Then again, it's NYC, maybe the Cardinal can host a dinner?
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Posted by: polish.pinecone4371 -
Nov. 19, 2013 5:33 PM ET USA
One archdiocese official said, “You cannot run away from reality. Many of these parishes years ago were populated by thousands and thousands of people. Those populations have moved on. We have many churches where the attendance is well below the capacity of the building.” So the answer is to close the parishes rather than evangelize. Got it.
