Changes coming to Catholic parishes

Another round of church closures appears to be on the horizon for the Catholic archdiocese of Halifax-yarmouth.

“We have a problem with attendance and with financial issues of the church,” said Ervin Doak, a retired Saint Mary’s University professor, and a parishioner and volunteer at St. Thomas Aquinas and Canadian Martyrs parish in central Halifax.

“All these parishes are confronting problems with aging populations and the contributions aren’t coming in like they should be,” Doak said. “We have structures that have to be repaired. We have fewer priests, so you run into administrative problems. It’s sad.”

The sadness washing over empty pews has spurred Archbishop Anthony Mancini to take some action. In a letter to be read from the altars of all diocesan churches at weekend masses, the archbishop focuses on a part of the 2017-2020 pastoral plan called New Parishes: Stronger Together.

“The new model of parishes will be one canonical parish with multiple sites where pastoral care and ministries would be delivered in collaboration, to local communities of proximity, where human and financial resources will be shared,” Mancini’s letter reads.

“What will this look like? At this stage it’s a work in progress and we don’t know yet.”

Spokeswoman Aurea Sadi said the archdiocese would be withholding comment until after the letter is shared with parishioners.