FINAL MAKING ALL THINGS NEW DECISIONS ANNOUNCED

NEW YORK
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York

Parish List 1 – Masses and Sacraments celebrated at both churches
Parish List 2 – Masses and Sacraments to be celebrated at the designated parish church; the other church may be used on special occasions.

The Archdiocese of New York today announced the last decisions reached by Cardinal Timothy Dolan for the final 16 proposed parish mergers that have been under consideration and deliberation by the parish clusters and the archdiocesan planning board over the last year-and-a-half. These 16 proposals arose during the Making All Things New pastoral planning process, and in November the cardinal requested additional input and honest response of the clusters and the advisory committee before making any decisions about these parishes. After the clusters and advisory committee completed their work, the Priest Council of the archdiocese reviewed their responses and offered their own counsel to the cardinal for his consideration.

As a result of this long process of consultation and review, the cardinal has decided that 31 parishes will merge, resulting in 14 new parishes (some mergers involve more than one parish). In 11 of these 14 newly formed parishes, two church buildings will be used, with one church designated as the parish church and the other site used for Masses and sacraments. There will be six churches where Masses and sacraments will no longer be celebrated on a regular basis.

There were two other proposals, one each on Staten Island and in Harlem, where, following this period of consultation and review, the cardinal has decided there will be no merger.

Today’s announcement brings to a conclusion this phase of the Making All Things New pastoral planning process. Cardinal Dolan said, “From the beginning, this process has been about helping the archdiocese to better accomplish the work of evangelization and outreach, preach the Gospel, perform works of charity, and educate people in the faith, all of which is at the heart of the Church’s mission. For too long we have been in the business of maintaining buildings and structures that were established in the 19th and early 20th centuries to meet the needs of the people of that time, but which are not necessary to meet the needs of the Church and its people as it exists today.”

Because of Making All Things New, the archdiocese has also identified several potential areas for increased pastoral ministry and growth, including:

* The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal undertaking ministry in the Newburgh area to work with the underprivileged, and immigrants, in that area;

* The Claretian Fathers expanding their ministry in White Plains;

* Franciscan Friars, headquartered on Todt Hill on Staten Island, possibly taking on new ministry;

* A new church facility for Saint Francis Xavier Cabrini on Roosevelt Island that will allow all of their services to be centralized in one expanded location;

* Identifying areas for housing to serve people with autism and other disabilities;

* The need for an expanded church for Saint Mary Parish in Washingtonville;

* Careful evaluation of the need to move Saint Michael Parish to the Hudson Yards in Manhattan;

* An expanded apostolate and new facilities to minister to and with the Latino community in the archdiocese.

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