A New Church 'Mission'
The looming end of the year is a good time to take stock of the past and plan for the future. The Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese is doing just that as it readies its On Mission for the Church Alive plan for unveiling next spring.
The Episcopal Vicar Philip Farrell, leader of Region 4 of the Pittsburgh Diocese, which includes Butler, Lawrence and northern Allegheny counties, said, “Now Bishop (David) Zubik is consulting with his priest and lay leaders from his advisory councils.”
There are 50 parishes and 43 active, 15 retired and eight in-residence priests and 20 deacons in Region 4.
“We've been doing consultation on this for five, six years,” said Farrell. “There was a large diocese-wide commission of primarily lay people.”
“Then the On Mission Commission met for a year to go over parish groupings, parishioner feedback and parish grouping and make recommendations,” said Farrell.
Bishop Zubik is now reviewing the commission's proposals in consultation with a priests' council and a diocesan pastoral council made up of representatives of all 21 districts in the diocese.
Diocese spokesman Bob DeWitt said in October and November of 2016 there were 300 meetings with 27,000 Catholics on the On Mission for the Church Alive plan.
“For those attending church it was kind of hard to miss it,” said DeWitt.
According to the diocese there are ample reasons for the On Mission plan.
Fewer people attend Mass on a regular basis. In 2000, nearly 250,000 people across the diocese attended Mass weekly. In 2015, that number was a bit under 150,000, a 40 percent decline.
And there are fewer priests to administer the diocese's 188 parishes, as well as serve in hospitals, nursing homes, schools and prisons. The number of priests in the diocese is projected to decline from the present 205 to about 112 in 2025.
In addition, many parishes are struggling financially
And the number of children in diocese schools is also on the decline. According to diocese figures, in the 2000-01 school year, about 24,000 students attended 102 Catholic elementary schools. This year, there are about 12,000 students in 59 Catholic elementary schools, making it hard to keep tuition at affordable levels and placing additional pressure on parish finances.
On April 26, 2018, the bishop will announce points of the plan to the diocese, said DeWitt.
“He will announce what parishes will be grouped together, the clergy — priests and deacons — that will be staffing those parishes, the number of Masses that will be celebrated on the weekends in each of the parishes, said Farell.
“He will announce blueprints for bring the parishes together,” said DeWitt.
“And finally, he will announce at what pace these groupings will eventually merge into one parish,” he said.
There will be no immediate movement of clergy or change in Mass schedules.“After April's announcement, priests will begin to visit their newly assigned parishes to help prepare for a smooth transition,”said Farrell.“The purpose of this time is for the new clergy to work with the old clergy and form relationships with the staff, “ said Farrell.'Then, according to the diocese's timetable, on Oct. 15, 2018, the new clergy assignments begin with one clergy team to serve all of the parishes in each grouping, and the new Mass schedule begins as well.There will be no immediate parish mergers or closing of church buildings.But each grouping will be put on a countdown to make such decisions in either two to three, three to five or five years, said Farrell.“Nothing can happen before 2020,” said Farrell.“The reasons for this is we know we want to do a better job, engage with more people and commit to evangelism in a structure with less people and less money,” said Farrell. “We can't do that using current resources.”The outcome of the diocese's plan could have ramifications far beyond Western Pennsylvania, said Farrell.“My understanding is across the country bishops are looking at the Pittsburgh Diocese to see how it plays out,” said Farrell. “They are looking at Pittsburgh and seeing what is working.”“I guess the thing is the Church has grown and evolved throughout the ages based on our faith the Holy Spirit is leading us,” said Farrell.DeWitt said “The restructuring is only the most obvious part of the On Mission plan.“But also part of the plan is changing how people are formed in the faith and how we spread the Gospel. What used to work doesn't work anymore,” said DeWitt.
