Regular readers Rafal and Adam have commented on my original LiŁ«dnas post.

Rafal in particular notes:

Does anyone keep statistics about how many RC churches have been closed in the United States in the past 20 years or so? I many areas that do not have a fresh supply of Catholics (immigrants) there seems to be a big number of them closed. How does that compare with number of PNCC parishes that have been closed/merged?

Rather than bury a long reply in the comments, I’m posting my reply here.

After some digging I found some information that speaks to Rafal’s question at Future Church. Future Church cites the source of the data as a study conducted by Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate. The study was primarily concerned with the declining number of R.C. priests and religious.

Just about every R.C. website and commentator with an agenda has used this data to make their case. For R.C. traditionalists these numbers are indicative of the damaged caused by Vatican II. For liberals and quasi-liberals like Call to Action, Voice of the Faithful, and Future Church the numbers indicate that the R.C. Church needs to foster further change.

Regardless of the agenda, the numbers do have a story to tell. Here are some highlights for the period between 1965 and 2003:

At first glance I see a declining number of priests, fewer vocations, more parishes, and more R.C. faithful. The combination of those factors plays out in huge increase in the number of parishes without a resident priest.

But lets scratch the surface a little.

There have always been unmanned parishes. In the 1960’s and prior they were the small rural parish, two or three nearby parishes in hamlets served by the same circuit-riding priest/pastor. The larger village or hamlet had the resident pastor and the smaller outlying town had a chapel. Sometimes these were seasonal parishes, serving an influx of vacationers in the summer. The 1965 count is probably a baseline for these types of parishes. This is not bad in and of itself.

The decrease in available priests, and the general aging of priests (see Latest Statistics on Priests) coupled with the increase in the number of Roman Catholics results in more parishes (+8%) and more understaffed parishes (+453%). That’s pretty obvious.

But you say, why more parishes? I hear about parish closings all the time.

I would say that the increase is the result of two things. First, the suburban build-out. There hasn’t been much discussion of Roman Catholic megachurches, but they do exist, right in your suburban community. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research gives a nod in this direction in The Definition of a Megachurch. I have two right near me. Christ the King and St. Madeline Sophie are within 8 miles of each other and probably pull in 2,000 to 4,000 people per parish per weekend. Our parish is often visited by people who need respite from the massive crowds. They feel they have lost the intimacy of their faith. Couple suburban build-out with the build-up of new R.C. parishes serving retirees in the Sunbelt and you can pretty quickly see the reason for the increase. Secondly, the effort to close R.C. parishes has been slow and painful. Closures have not overtaken building.

That will end. The 3,000 to 4,000 parishes without a resident priest will disappear. Dioceses such as Buffalo, Albany, Boston, Detroit, and New York have all undertaken multi-year restructuring reviews. They’ve taken a more-or-less business approach to the problems cited. From a business perspective they need to dump under performing assets and convert those assets into ready cash. In poor Rustbelt inner cities they will roll the parish properties to unsuspecting not-for-profits, preservationists, and inner city Evangelical or Muslim missions. In larger cities those parishes represent a dead asset sitting on property valued in the millions (see the case of Our Lady of Vilnius in New York City for an example – a Lithuanian immigrant landmark).

These closings, which are expected to be sweeping, will wipe out the growth trend and indicate where R.C. Church really is. I would expect a 4 to 5% net decrease in parishes in comparison to the 1965 baseline. The remaining parishes will be predominantly middle-class and suburban. Those folks will contribute to “Catholic Charities” to help their inner city neighbors, raising the drawbridge in the process. They might even contribute to the ‘missions’ in Africa and Asia, but will miss the missionary opportunity right in their own back yard.

Now there have certainly been PNCC closures and consolidations. The vast difference is that those closures and consolidations are bottom-up. The people of the parish decide and approach the Church with a plan, the hierarchy does not impose (or even suggest) a plan. That was Bishop Hodur’s vision – parishes that were self managing and accountable to the people in terms of their worldly possessions. You pay for it, you take care of it – to be a little crass.

What surprises me about organizations like Call to Action, Voice of the Faithful, and Future Church is that the PNCC offers them a ready made solution that meets 80 to 90% of their needs. If they seek accountability, input, a voice and a vote, and a married clergy, the PNCC offers it. If they want to manage their parish, have at it. Of course, they would have to agree with basic Catholic doctrine and teaching, and no, there won’t be women as priests and deacons or same-sex marriages or blessings, but if they desire Catholicism and democracy, the PNCC is the place.

To Rafal’s next point:

You should send letters to all the former parishioners of that parish inviting them to BVMC. I bet quite a few would come.

I would – but I really doubt that the Albany Diocese or the pastor over at St. John the Evangelist would give me the names and addresses.

I hurt for these people. I know that my childhood parish, the beautiful St. Casimir’s in Buffalo will probably close (three parishes within three miles of each other – St. Casimir’s being the oldest and hardest to maintain financially), as my father’s and grandfather’s did.

I imagine Ms. Richmere standing there next to the Lithuanian flag and the nativity scene all decked out in her Suvalkija costume saying —there’s nothing we can do about it.— At the age of 80 pray, pay, and obey was the mantra she learned. Change is difficult, and I find that people like her just stop going to church. Her children or relatives will bury her, perhaps without a church service, and she’ll be gone. I’ll remember her though – and all those disaffected and put out who said —there’s nothing we can do about it.— The sin is not their’s.

To Adam’s point:

…the PNCC would be more than able to take these people in or open the doors to a new parish. Sadly, Rome has probably scared them into submission.

Yes we would, but it takes a leap of faith. After 40, 50, 60, 70, or 80 years of following the Pope and R.C. teaching, it is easier to gripe and complain, but remain comfortably inside, than to change. I don’t think that they are scared into submission. How many R.C. Church members do you know who are scared of their pastor, bishop, or the Pope? That baby went out with the bath water around 1969. Rather they are just comfortable and complacent. It’s not where any person of faith should be.

This blog is a means to get the word out, and the seekers have come, have written to me, and do care about the Catholic faith. Our door is open and you are always welcome – Sveiki atvykę.