CANADA
CBC News
Some Catholic churches in the Moncton area could be forced to close due to financial challenges, says the archbishop.
Valéry Vienneau told parishioners over the weekend the future of all 54 churches in the Archdiocese will be reviewed in light of diminishing attendance and a shortage of priests.
“We can’t let a parish go into a deficit for a number of three or four years,” he said.
”We would ask them to look at their finances and present us with a plan and see if they can correct it. Because if a parish goes into deficit and has to close, the diocese has to pick up the tab, and we don’t have the means right now to do that.”
The Moncton Archdiocese has already been struggling financially, as it looks for millions of dollars to pay compensation to victims of sexual abuse.
The diocesan centre was closed last year, after at least 90 victims came forward in a confidential compensation process headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Michel Bastarache, and about 10 lawsuits were filed against the church and two former priests.
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