hRead it and weep: Decree on the Relegation of the Church of St. Joseph, New Rochelle, NY
News 12 covered the parishioner rally at the church on March 20, 2022 after hearing that the church was to close on July 1st of that year.
It seems like many of the archdiocese's decrees were created from an address book of remaining parishes and mail merge form letters. The media coverage is startlingly identical, too: churches are closed due to low attendance, deteriorating physical plant and shortage of priests. This coverage might have hit a bullseye with "lack of profitability," sensing that the archdiocese is a business rather than a pastoral enterprise in the spirit of Jesus.
Parishioners like Maria Figueroa-Valencia and Philip Sidoti express sadness and anger, stating an intent to save the church and the parish community, but unless the parish has megabucks and influential parishioners (Peggy Noonan), like St. Thomas on the upper east side of Manhattan, these efforts are likely to be overpowered.
Unless the archdiocese becomes truly transparent and behave as if the laity has value beyond remittance envelopes, attendance will decline and vocations will become rarer. When we look at our leaders, what they say and how they do business, we need to see Christ, not investment bankers. But this is just one ewe's opinion.
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