The first news of closing parishes is coming out. Among the closed, it is interesting to note that the parishes of about 90 percent of the 58 priests who demanded Cardinal Law’s resignation are there. My guess is that these guys had been identified as troublemakers long ago and were put in dead or dying parishes where they could do little harm.
Anyway, the announcements I’ve heard include St. Augustine’s, South Boston; Sacred Heart, Lexington; St. Bernard’s, Newton; St. Susannah’s, Dedham, Presentation, Brighton; Immaculate Conception, Cambridge. They’re being announced on the radio like snowstorm closings. I haven’t heard about any parishes in Salem yet, except that my own parish is staying open, which was no surprise.
Staying open are St. Joseph’s, Lynn; Gate of Heaven, South Boston; St. Philip Neri, Newton; Holy Family, Lynn; St. Ann, Marshfield;Incarnation, Melrose; St. Bridget, Abington.
I have a question? On the National News it was alluded that these churches were being closed because of the “priest scandal” and the money would be used to pay for all the lawsuits. Can you enlighten me?
Most of the national news stories are wrong. The money to pay the legal settlements came out of the sale of archdiocesan property, but not parishes. The money being realized from the sale of these properties will barely cover the debts the parishes already have. They’re not making much money.
The Scandal only contributed to the problem that the closings address, it did not create it.
Thanks Dom!! It still is a tragedy that so many churches have to close.
My question is why are that many closing. It sounds impossible. There must be a lot of churches in Boston.
Before the closings there wer 357 parishes in the archdiocese. Anyone who looks at it objectively knows that’s too many. Just in the city of Salem alone, with 40,000 people, half of them nominally Catholic, and about 10 percent of whom who go to Mass on Sunday. But just a couple of years ago, we had seven parishes in the city, four of them within site of each other. That’s way too many. Really we need two or three at the most.