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	Archdiocese to Close Roselawn Church By Dan Horn Cincinnati Enquirer October 1, 2008 http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081001/NEWS01/310010061 Our Mother of Sorrows in Roselawn will soon join a growing list of Catholic parishes in southern Ohio that have closed or merged with other parishes. The Archdiocese of Cincinnati announced Wednesday the church will close no later than June. Officials said the archdiocese’s Presbyteral Council recommended the change after concluding that dwindling membership and changing demographics made it unlikely Our Mother of Sorrows could remain viable much longer. The average number of parishioners attending Mass in the parish had fallen from 241 to 166 over the past four years. Archdiocese spokesman Dan Andriacco said a large number of people attending Mass at Our Mother of Sorrows no longer lived in the parish but continued to drive there every Sunday. He said that’s why parishioners voted to close the parish rather than merge with another. “A good number of people there weren’t living in the neighborhood,” Andriacco said. “Changing demographics mean few Catholic people are in the neighborhood.” Several other parishes have fallen victim to the same trend in recent years. Some are located in rural areas where membership has remained low while costs have risen. Others are in urban neighborhoods where once-large Catholic populations have moved to the suburbs. Four parishes, including Our Lady of Sorrows, have closed since 2003. Seven others have merged to form three combined parishes. The most recent merger came three weeks ago when St. Margaret of Cortona in Madisonville combined with St. John Vianney in Madison Place to form St. Margaret-St. John parish. Andriacco said the archdiocese’s 500,000 Catholics are not leaving the church or the area, but rather are moving to new places within the archdiocese’s 19 counties. He said many churches are growing, particularly in the suburbs, as churches in the cities lose parishioners. Money and the priest shortage also are issues for many shrinking parishes. Our Lady of Sorrows has operated since at least last year with a temporary administrator, the Rev. Ray Kellerman, instead of a full-time pastor. Kellerman could not be reached Wednesday and no one returned calls placed to the church. The closure of Our Mother of Sorrows will leave the archdiocese with 219 parishes. Contact: dhorn@enquirer.com
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