DETROIT (MI)
Detroit Free Press
By Patricia Montemurri
Free Press Staff Writer
Catholics attending weekend mass late this afternoon began to learn the fate of their parishes, as pastors announced decisions made by Archbishop Allen Vigneron to close or merge some parishes to deal with an escalating priest shortage, population shifts and financial shortfalls.
At Our Lady of Fatima parish in Oak Park, the Rev. Paul Chateau told parishioners at 4:30 p.m. mass that Vigneron decided that the Oak Park parish should merge with St. James in Ferndale by mid-2013. Even as a merged parish, it appears both churches could stay open as long as there is a pastor available, or until either one incurred an operating deficit. The directive also said the merged Our Lady of Fatima/St. James parish should also collaborate with nearby Our Lady of LaSalette in Berkley if need be for a further merger down the road.
All three churches, Vigneron said, need to submit a contingency plan that could include closing church buildings and selling the property, if “a current pastor is no longer available, if a replacement is not available or assigned, or when one of these parishes begins to experience a net operating deficit,” according to Vigneron’s directive.
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