Parish mergers vital to diocese
For the second time in 22 months, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh has begun a process of consolidating churches in this region. And for the second time in that span, it is irking parishioners in Washington and Greene counties.
The diocese, facing a shortage of priests and a precipitous decline in Mass and sacramental participation by members, has implemented a major restructuring of its operations called “On Mission for the Church Alive!” It entails reductions of priests, parishes and churches in six counties – Washington, Greene, Allegheny, Beaver, Butler and Lawrence – through 2025.
“Our priests are stretched too thinly,” Bishop David A. Zubik said at a news conference last Friday. “We need to redesign and mobilize our parishes.”
That redesign, according to the Observer-Reporter’s Scott Beveridge, could lead to the closure of 16 of 34 churches in Washington and Greene and a reduction in priests in those counties from 23 to 11. That, he added, is part of diocese’s plan to drop from 209 priests currently to 112 in 2025.
Making his diocese leaner is a fiscally sound and practical strategy, at a time when fewer men are entering the priesthood and fewer Roman Catholics are attending services. But that doesn’t mean locals have to like it. In fact, a number of parishioners in southeastern Washington County were outraged when the diocese merged five churches into the newly formed St. Katharine Drexel in Bentleyville. St. Katharine opened Jan. 8, as part of a plan launched in July 2015.
Loyalty to one’s house of worship is common, though. Many people – regardless of affiliation – are passionate about religion and do not believe in mandated separation of church and churchgoer. They are comfortable with where they have been attending services, immersed in the community atmospheres fostered there, and are opposed to closures.
The bishop’s counter to those opposed to change? “We have to do something to convince them that a church is not a building.” But that won’t be easy to do.
The plans Zubik outlined last week will affect people, priests and parishes across the diocese. Those blueprints for change should be pervasive. From 2000 to 2015, the Roman Catholic population throughout the six counties declined by more than 120,000 and the number attending mass fell by nearly 100,000. Retooling is necessary.
Zubik said the 188 parishes under his direction have been placed in 49 groups and have been told to make recommendations on cutbacks. There will be resistance among some parishioners, of course, but for the Pittsburgh Diocese to have a prayer of remaining viable, changes must be made.