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	Reasons for Diocesan Changes Explained By Jim Walsh Courier-Post April 6, 2008 http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080406/NEWS01/804060371/1006 The Diocese of Camden will reduce the number of parishes from 124 to 66. The sweeping reduction is needed to cope with a shortage of priests and population changes in the South Jersey diocese of some 500,000 Catholics, according to Bishop Joseph Galante. Here are some questions about the plan, which will unfold over the next two years. Question: What changes did diocesan planners consider? Answer: Planners considered: Mergers, where two or more nearby parishes form one larger parish with a single pastor. It will control all of the former parishes' assets and debts, including their churches. Galante decided to create 38 merged parishes in the six-county South Jersey area. All parishes entering a merger should have a single new pastor by October. Once the merger takes effect, members of each participating parish will be represented on the pastoral and finance councils of the new parish. Clusters, where one pastor oversees two or three parishes. Existing councils, budgets and worship sites are retained, but there is more collaboration between the cluster's members. Six parishes are to operate in three clusters under Galante's plan. A priest team model, where one priest serves as pastor/moderator for a team of priests that oversees multiple parishes. A priest team is to oversee one cluster in the Atlantic City area. Traditional stand-alone churches will continue, but in reduced numbers. Only 22 will survive the restructuring process. Q: Will my church close? A: In some cases, that's possible. Most merged parishes will have one church designated the primary worship site. Some may have secondary sites. The combined parishes are expected to take new names when they merge. But more than 20 church buildings will not be used for religious purposes after parishes merge in Camden and Gloucester counties. The pastor of each merged parish is to determine a building's fate, including its sale or new use, with input from parishioner councils. Q: How will the transition process work? A: Publicly, the diocese has released few details. "Transition typically will be accomplished within 12 months," according to the diocese. In some "exceptional" cases, the diocese said, parishes may take up to two years to complete a merger. The diocese also is dispatching 100 "trained facilitators" to help parish members cope with change. Q: The bishop says the changes will revitalize the church in South Jersey -- for instance, by drawing more people to Sunday Mass. Are current attendance levels a problem? A: "Surveys indicate a dramatic decline in religious observance," Galante said. "Five decades ago, weekly Mass attendance was 74 percent. Today it is less than 24 percent." Q: How will these changes help the diocese cope with its priest shortage? A: Most basically, by ensuring there's one priest for each parish. The number of diocesan priests, 171 in 2005, is expected to fall by half by 2015. Also, the remaining parishes are intended to be financially stronger than many of their predecessors. That will support the hiring of paid professionals to deliver many services to parishioners. Q: What is the role of population change in restructuring? A: Over the years, many Catholics have moved away from former population centers like Camden. That has created new demands for church services in some areas, while leaving others with a sizable number of aging and underutilized facilities. The Catholic population is rising, in large part, due to newly arriving immigrants, particularly from Asian and Spanish-speaking communities. Q: What factors were considered in developing the new parish lineup? A: Among other issues, planners considered the distance to Sunday Mass for parishioners and the workload for future pastors. They considered whether a recommendation would provide "adequate resources for paid, professional staff to assist in parish ministry" and whether the parish would be financially viable, the diocese said. In earlier stages, planners reviewed such factors as demographic and financial figures, as well as Mass attendance and parish facilities. Q: How have population changes affected the diocese? A: Catholics make up about a third of South Jersey's population, but they're not spread evenly over 12 deaneries, or groups of parishes, in the six-county diocese. Camden, once the heartland of the local church, had only about 15,000 Catholics in 2005, according to a diocese report. The largest population at that time: Almost 70,000 Catholics lived in Deanery 5, which includes Blackwood, Sewell and Washington Township. Each of those areas currently has nine parishes, although Deanery 5 also has one mission. More than 200,000 Catholics lived in Camden and Gloucester counties in 2005, about half of the diocesan total. Burlington County is part of the Diocese of Trenton. Q: How about demographic changes? A: Hispanic Catholics, who now represent about 20 percent of the diocesan population, are a growing population. However, this group is primarily centered in a few areas, particularly around Camden and Vineland. The Spanish-speaking Catholics, along with members of other immigrant groups, require a variety of services and programs, as well as bilingual priests, the diocese said. "These (needs) raise a variety of issues that directly challenge existing parishes," the diocese said in a report. More than 20 parishes are merging in the suburbs of Camden County. Q: Why were there so many parishes merged in Camden County? A: Many of these "graying" parishes, often launched by people who left Camden in the 1950s and 1960s, "no longer include a large number of young families," the diocese notes. As a result, pews are empty. Senior citizens typically anchor these churches "but they cannot retain this role for long." Q: Why will some churches at the Jersey Shore be open only during the summer? A: Rising real estate prices have led many year-round residents to leave shore towns for mainland communities, the diocese said. As a result, the shore churches are lightly attended in cold weather. "However, the number of vacationers who fill up the pews in summer is not expected to diminish," the diocese said. Reach Jim Walsh at (856) 486-2646 or jwalsh@courierpostonline.com
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