UNITED KINGDOM
The Tablet
14 May 2015 by Sarah Mac Donald
Leaders of more than 20 international reform groups have written to Pope Francis criticising the trend towards “mega-parishes” as a response to the decline in priest numbers.
The letter is signed by 24 groups whose representatives attended last month’s reform conference in Limerick. It warns the Pope that bishops are responding to the priest shortage by creating “anonymous and unmanageable superstructures”.
In these new mega-parishes, personal contact between people and ministers is lost, says the letter, leaving the faithful “alienated, unsettled and insecure” as priests are increasingly focused on administration instead of caring for souls.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.