iirc, yep, this parish is unsustainably small in people given the vocations crisis (and the closeness of the next nearest parish). But it's a mess because the bishop didn't have that conversation transparently - he implied it was only closing because of the financial issues. The people came up with a plan to both buy the parish building …
iirc, yep, this parish is unsustainably small in people given the vocations crisis (and the closeness of the next nearest parish). But it's a mess because the bishop didn't have that conversation transparently - he implied it was only closing because of the financial issues. The people came up with a plan to both buy the parish building and sustain it financially - and I think are rightfully frustrated to have found out only afterwards that the bishop had already decided it needed to close anyway. And they don't have a financially viable way to keep it open just for prayer, they were counting in typical Sunday Mass donations.
It reminds me a lot of the Steubenville diocese question - sometimes a closure is necessary, but how you communicate throughout that process matters
iirc, yep, this parish is unsustainably small in people given the vocations crisis (and the closeness of the next nearest parish). But it's a mess because the bishop didn't have that conversation transparently - he implied it was only closing because of the financial issues. The people came up with a plan to both buy the parish building and sustain it financially - and I think are rightfully frustrated to have found out only afterwards that the bishop had already decided it needed to close anyway. And they don't have a financially viable way to keep it open just for prayer, they were counting in typical Sunday Mass donations.
It reminds me a lot of the Steubenville diocese question - sometimes a closure is necessary, but how you communicate throughout that process matters