Diocese of Antigonish Starts Church Review

By Aaron Beswick
Chronicle-Herald
August 12, 2013

http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1147365-diocese-of-antigonish-starts-church-review?from=most_read&most_read=1147365

More Roman Catholic churches in northern Nova Scotia could be closing their doors.

The Diocese of Antigonish is beginning a review process to decide which of its 62 churches it can afford to operate in Richmond, Inverness, Antigonish, Guysborough and Pictou counties.

After a similar review in Cape Breton and Victoria counties, the diocese decided it will close 16 of 43 churches there.

“There’s a lot of talk and worry about it,” said Ronald (Buddy) MacEachern, chairman of the finance committee for Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Church in Ballantynes Cove, Antigonish County.

Father Donald MacGillivray, spokesman for the diocese, said the review is the inevitable result of a declining population, fewer priests and declining church involvement among those who stay in rural communities, and a frustration among many Catholics with the church over the sexual abuse scandal that rocked the diocese.

Last fall, the diocese satisfied its legal obligations to pay out $15 million to victims of sexual abuse at the hands of its priests over the last 50 years. To do that it had to sell a large number of its properties and liquidate the bank accounts of many of its churches. As well, it borrowed $6.5 million from private lenders to make the payout.

While the diocese owns all its churches, other than those located within First Nations communities, which are owned by those communities, the local parishes are responsible for the cost of upkeep and paying a priest.

“It’s an extremely difficult process,” said MacGillivray of the review process.

“Anecdotally, I would say that the (sexual abuse scandal) has had an effect, but the larger issue is demographic changes and out-migration. These are issues for all of rural Nova Scotia.”

In 1996, the diocese had over 80 diocesan priests with an average age of 55. Now, it’s down to just over 40 priests with an average age of 61.

“There are fewer priests and less bums in pews,” said Joe Stewart Monday, chairman of the committee responsible for running Jimtown Catholic Chapel in Antigonish County.

“There will be less churches for sure at the end of this process, but if you don’t have the priests, what do you do?”

The Jimtown church, which Stewart remembers helping to build as a boy, covers all its own costs and pays for the service of a retired priest. Stewart said that while he believes his church will survive the review, he can understand the concerns of other parishes.

MacGillivray said the process will involve each of the deaneries reviewing their demographics, parish finances and viability of operations and then make recommendations to the bishop on how to proceed. He said there will be opportunities for input from parishioners and he “hopes” the process can be completed in less than two years.

For his part, MacEachern said he would consider the closure of Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Church unacceptable.

He said the church, which is over 130 years old, has just gotten back on stable financial footing after the diocese cleared $130,000 out of its bank account to go toward the sexual abuse settlement. While the finance committee managed to withhold $30,000, a community meeting was held in Ballantynes Cove in May and his committee warned parishioners that if more money didn’t start coming in, they may lose the church built by their ancestors.

“People were pissed off that the diocese took the money, but after that meeting, people opened their wallets and attendance started picking up again,” said MacEachern, 74.

“The relationship between the people and the diocese has changed since when I was young. We don’t consider the priest to be God anymore and we’re more willing to stand up to him.”

MacEachern said attendance two weeks ago peaked at 95, a full house in the small church, and in the winter averages between 45 and 50 people.