| April 21, 2008 | Volume 83, Number 13 | |
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Changes comingCatholics in the Diocese of Richmond who are now grappling with making recommendations for a five-year Pastoral Plan should know full well that whatever plan is adopted will not make everyone happy. Changes will have to be made and change is difficult for some people. The figures alone are only part of the problem. There are now 225,000 Catholics in the diocese which spans 33,000 square miles. That number appears to be growing. But with that good news other statistics indicate the number of priests will continue to decline. This is true all over the country, not just in the Diocese of Richmond. Two weeks ago there was an outcry from some Catholics in the Diocese of Camden, N.J. when Bishop Joseph A. Galante announced a new restructuring plan which reduced the number of parishes from 124 to 66. About 30 parishes closed outright and others were to become “worship sites” within realigned parishes. At the same time, it must be noted that weekly Mass attendance in the Camden diocese is below 24 percent — a figure Bishop Galante called “appalling.” While what happened in Camden will not likely be the same here in the Diocese of Richmond, people must still be prepared for the changes that will have to be made. Right now we don’t know what they will be, but let’s just look at the facts. There are now 153 parishes and missions in the Diocese of Richmond. Many of them, particularly in southwestern Virginia, have fewer than 100 individual parishioners in largely non-Catholic areas when the next closest church can be 20 miles or more. Let’s take the two parishes of St. Bernard’s in Gate City and St. Patrick’s in Dungannon, which are 23 miles from each other. Both are staffed by Father Rolly Hautz, an 80-year-old Glenmary Home Missioners priest. “We usually have about 30 show up on a Sunday at Gate City,” Father Rolly told The Catholic Virginian. “We get about 18 to 20 at Dungannon.” Right now there are three priests 80 or older who serve as pastors. In addition to Father Hautz, there is Father Adrian Harmening at St. Joseph’s in Richmond and Father Paschal Kneip at St. Andrew’s in Chincoteague. Both are Benedictine priests. What will happen when they are unable to keep up their vigorous pace? Rumors abound about what’s going to happen. But no one should take stock in rumors that a “mega church” will be built in certain new locations while older vibrant parishes in that area will be shut down. But yes, some adaptations will have to be made. It will not or cannot be business as usual. This is serious business. People in the local planning areas are working hard to come up with a viable plan to present to Bishop DiLorenzo. Let us all cooperate and be reasonable about examining suggestions which might fill the bill. We can discard what does not look like it will work. Some things might need a second look.
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