LUCINSKI: Catholic churches: A painful readjustment

Opinion

December 30, 2007

By Dick Lucinski/lucinskid@gnnewspaper.com The Niagara Gazette Sun Dec 30, 2007, 12:45 AM EST

Editor’s note: This column first appeared Oct. 17, 2007

It’s a shame.

We’re talking about the reconfiguration of Roman Catholic parishes and the closing of churches here in the Niagara Falls area. It’s a shame, not unexpected, but necessary.

Catholic officials in the Buffalo Diocese have been between the classic rock and hard place for quite some time now. On the one hand, the exodus of people from the cities to the suburbs and from the region to other states has left many parishes shells of their former selves. They are unable to sustain themselves as they could in days gone by.

That’s when the flood of immigrants into Western New York spilled into the pews of churches such as Holy Trinity on East Falls Street and Sacred Heart in the North End. That’s when the church was the central force in a community.

Those who have been residents and parishioners for decades still see it that way. That’s the other hand the diocese has to deal with. Some of those parishioners are prepared to fight the consolidation and closing orders tooth-and-nail. There’s talk of taking their crusades to the Vatican. It probably won’t help, but some say they’re going to try.

As much as the diocese wants to spin the process into something positive, calling it the Journey in Faith and Grace, it’s nothing short of a disaster to the people who have been baptized, received first communion and confirmation, were married, had their children baptized and said their final good-byes to their loved ones all in the same church. For many of them, closing it will be as if part of their spiritual lives has been ripped from their souls, never to be replaced.

The diocese and others can say all they want about the church really being the bonding and gathering and worshipping of the faithful in the community and neighborhood; that it’s really not a question of bricks and mortar. But try telling that to people who have laid their souls bare inside those grand old churches. They’ll tell you something different.

Having said that, the diocese is dealing with its rock-and-a-hard-place problem as best it can. In speaking with reporters this weekend, Bishop Edward Kmiec said, “We are looking forward to the various transitions and hopefully a chance for some of the feelings to heal. We know the emotions have been there.”

And he says there might be more pain to come. Sunday’s announcement from the diocese said “There may be some additional restructuring (in the Niagara Falls area) in another three to five years.” A declining population with no reversal on the horizon will lead to statements such as that.

And what about the buildings that will be left behind? The bishop says that, by and large, the merged parishes will make the decisions on what to do with the excess real estate. It’s difficult to call it that, real estate, a term so cold and detached when it comes to something as emotional and spiritual as a church building. But those kinds of decisions are exactly what need to be made if the newly reconfigured parishes are to grow and prosper.

There’s another trend that is contributing to the parish consolidation and church closings: The decline in the number of priests. Fewer priests mean fewer potential pastors which means it’s simply impossible to maintain the number of parishes. That’s a problem that affects both population-starved Western New York and the booming regions of the country alike.

So, as life’s other institutions have to face the fact of Western New York’s loss of population, so does the institution of the Roman Catholic church. It’s just too bad that it has to hurt so much.

Dick Lucinski is the managing editor of the Niagara Gazette. His columns appear on Wednesdays and Sundays.

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