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National Pastoral Life Center to close Nov. 30; key programs continue
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A gradual decline in funding in recent years is forcing the National Pastoral Life Center to close Nov. 30. The home of numerous pioneering programs to help diocesan and parish workers in their ministries for 26 years since its founding by the late Msgr. Philip J. Murnion, the center also has had to face the rapid growth of similar training efforts sponsored by Catholic colleges and universities and other institutes nationwide, said Peter Denio, the center's acting director. "The pastoral services are continuing in so many different ways," Denio told Catholic News Service Nov. 24. "Particularly at this time with the economy and similar organizations seeking funding from a relatively small pool ... we could not sustain ourselves in that." Msgr. Murnion, who died of colon cancer in 2003, established the center at the urging of the U.S. bishops after he became known among diocesan and parish workers for his efforts to help them find ways of conducting local ministries despite cultural pressures and the challenges of change in the church. "The center was originally created with the vision of Vatican II in mind and helping implement the vision of Vatican II for the Catholic Church in the United States," Denio explained. The New York offices of the National Pastoral Life Center also was the home of the Catholic Common Ground Initiative, the Council for Pastoral Planning and Council Development, and Roundtable, the national association of diocesan social action directors. Each of the three programs will continue in new locales.
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