BishopAccountability.org
	Diocese Must Confront Reality Editorial Berkshire Eagle [Massachusetts] March 5, 2007 http://www.berkshireeagle.com/editorials/ci_5358302 The recommendation of a University of Massachusetts study that two Pittsfield parishes should be closed and others merged doesn't come as a shock but undoubtedly saddens many loyal parishioners. Catholics in the city will adjust to a reality that has long been apparent, but it is less certain that the Diocese of Springfield will adjust to the new realities that it faces. The study recommended that Holy Family and St. Mary Morning Star be closed and six other parishes be merged or "yoked" in three groups of two. The diocese will not make any decisions until parishioners are heard from in public forums this fall, but change is coming. The church population in Pittsfield is graying along with the general population, there is a severe shortage of priests, and the diocese is buckling under the resultant financial strain. The problems facing the diocese are complicated by the social forces battering the Catholic Church and a clergy sexual abuse scandal that was magnified by the complicity of a church hierarchy that bounced abusers from parish to parish rather than turn them over to civil authorities. The Springfield Diocese paid $7.7 million to settle a lawsuit in August 2004 Involving 46 claims of sexual abuse, adding to financial problems resulting from a 26 percent drop in attendance over 10 years. The statement by diocese spokesman Mark E. Dupont in Wednesday's Eagle story "Shrinking Religion" that parishioners who leave their church are "turning their backs on God and their faith" is indicative of the blinkered haughtiness that has put the church in the position it finds itself in. The church, by its failure to deal with abusive priests, its opposition to stem cell research, its intrusion into politics by opposing gay marriage even though Massachusetts marriage law does not affect it, has caused many Catholics to conclude that the church has turned its back on them. In response to the growing Latino population in cities like Pittsfield, the diocese is seeking more Spanish-speaking priests and organizing social events to involve Latinos. This is an excellent idea, but if the Catholic Church in general and the Springfield Diocese in particular, fail to understand that they can no longer demand the blind obedience of parishioners, the departure of church members will escalate.
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