Archbishop O'Malley outlines plan to close dozens of Boston parishes

Published: 2003-12-17

BOSTON (CNS) -- In a much anticipated meeting Dec. 16 with priests of the archdiocese, Boston Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley outlined a process for closing dozens of parishes, with the first parish closings coming as early as June. He also called on priests to be unified in supporting the reconfiguration process. It was the first time in more than 25 years that all priests in the archdiocese had been summoned to such a meeting with the archbishop. Approximately 600 priests attended. In his hourlong remarks, Archbishop O'Malley spoke about funding of recent clergy abuse settlements and about same-sex marriage in addition to the "reconfiguration" of the 357 parishes in the archdiocese. Throughout his talk, the archbishop used the term "reconfiguration" but did not specifically mention parish closings or mergers. Because of changes in demographics, a shortage of priests, a decrease in regular Mass attendance and the financial difficulties and disrepair of many parishes, a "substantial number of parishes" will have to close, said Archbishop O'Malley.

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