This makes an unprecedented three parish merger appeals won by St Louis Catholics determined to defend their parish homes.

Historically Rome has upheld bishops in merging a parish but upheld Catholics who appealed the relegation of their church to profane use — usually prior to being sold.

In other words, the bishop could close their parish but not — if Catholics appealed — close and sell their church.

Now, it appears Catholics have a chance of winning both types of appeals.

The dicastery did not find just cause for St Angela Merici Parish to be merged with St Norbert and Holy Name of Jesus parishes.

Neither did the dicastery find just cause to merge St Martin of Tours Parish in Lemay, Missouri, with St Mark parish.

In an earlier Feb. 5, 2024 ruling, the dicastery also reversed the archdiocese's attempt to close and merge St Richard Parish in Creve Coeur, Missouri.

It is significant that the Vatican disputed the archdiocese's demographic projections and said St Richard is "large enough to be a viable community," including 374 registered parishioners under 49-years-old "in their prime earning years."

A July 2020 Vatican instruction about parish reconfigurations specifically said a bishop should not merge a parish or sell a church because of "the lack of clergy, demographic decline or the grave financial state of the diocese."

Yet until now it has been exceedingly rare for the Vatican to reverse a bishop on a parish merger.

It is rarer still to see the Dicastery for the Clergy defend the viability of one smaller parish, let alone three of them.

These rulings are good news for smaller — yet viable and vibrant — parishes that may pursue recourse in the future.

I have been helping with FutureChurch's Save Our Parish Community initiative since it launched in 2007.

I lived through Cleveland's massive parish downsizing initiated by Cleveland's then-bishop, the late Richard Lennon, and saw firsthand how destructive the indiscriminate closing of smaller viable parishes can be — both to the faith of Catholics and to the well-being of the poorer neighbourhoods those parishes served.

I rejoiced when 12 Cleveland parishes won their parish merger appeals, and the bishop was forced to reopen them after being closed for two or more years.

I am so passionate about this parish merger issue that (spoiler alert) I spent three years writing a book about the late Sr Kate Kuenstler's ground-breaking canonical work finding a pathway through canon law.

Because of her creative contribution to new jurisprudence, Catholics now have a shot at due process when their bishop makes misguided decisions to merge their viable parishes and close their churches.

If all goes as planned Rowman Littlefield will publish Bending Toward Justice: Sr Kate Kuenstler and the Struggle for Parish Rights this coming December.

It is deeply gratifying to see Sister Kate's pioneering work bearing fruit.

It is also gratifying to see faithful St. Louis Catholics organize to defend their parish homes.

In May 2023, after an 18 month "All Things New" planning process, the Archdiocese of St Louis announced it would reduce the number of parishes from 178 to 135.

Catholics opposed to restructuring had begun organizing months earlier.

In April 2023, "Save Our St. Louis Parishes" sent a petition with 3,000 signatures asking Rozanski to halt restructuring plans altogether.

Early feedback from laity apparently convinced the archdiocese to decrease the number of planned closures from 80-100 parishes to just 43.

"Save Our St. Louis Parishes" worked closely with canon lawyer Phillip Gray from the St Joseph Foundation in submitting numerous appeals to Rome.

Other appeals were submitted by other canon lawyers, including Robert Flummerfelt, who has guided numerous canonical recourses since Sr Kate's untimely death.

In an email to me, Flummerfelt found recent Vatican rulings in St Louis to be a positive development:

"The Holy See has generated strong jurisprudence on these matters positively affecting the rights of parishioners in retaining their parishes. It is encouraging to have those jurisprudential developments implemented and honoured to respect the rights of the faithful in saving their parishes and churches."

Continue reading

• Sr Christine Schenk an NCR board member, served urban families for 18 years as a nurse midwife before co-founding FutureChurch, where she served for 23 years.

In September 2015, the parishes of St Joseph's, St Philomena's and Our Lady Help of Christians became one, known as the Catholic Parish of New Plymouth.

Held at the TSB Stadium, the mass attracted hundreds of parishioners from New Plymouth, Bell Block and Okato.

Father Simon Story who presided at the Mass said it was the largest Mass he had been involved in during his time in Taranaki.

He said a decade ago, parishes had a presence of mainly European people, but about one third of churchgoers now were either Filipino or Indian, a change which represented a "big shift" across the region.

"That's a blessing and a gift to the faith community," Story said.

But despite this, the numbers of people affiliated to the Catholic faith across New Zealand was fairly stagnant.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• Image: stuff.co.nz Grant Matthew

The move will mean a new name and structure for St Andrew's in Newlands, St Benedict's in Khandallah and St Peter and Paul's in Johnsonville.

The new parish will be established at a mass at St Andrew's on February 28, when it will assume the name of St Francis of Assisi, Ohariu.

All three churches will continue to hold mass and other activities. Continue reading

The four lay staff and three priests, who previously worked within the three parishes of St Mary's, St Patrick's and St Thomas More, are presently working out of the unified parish's temporary site at St Mary's in Greenmeadows.

As parish pastoral council member David Marshall said, the location for the staff will eventually be be at the more central St Patrick's Church but money would have to be spent.

The Parish House in Napier is now vacant and two options for its future were now on the table.

It can either be converted and refurbished up to earthquake-risk levels or demolished to make way for a new office building.

"That is the challenge we have to take on," Marshall said.

He says services will continue at all three parishes and a "hub" of volunteers will be at them each morning to deal with parishioner inquiries and provide hospitality "for visitors from wherever they might come".

He said the unification mass on May 24 as probably the most significant event in the 165-year history of the church in Napier.

Last month the unifying of the three parishes was celebrated by Bishop Charles Drennan, the Bishop of Palmerston North Diocese and the three priests of the new parish Father Peter Head, Father Mike Wooller and Father John Mori. The event saw the Municipal Theatre in Napier packed with about 1000 people.

Source

• nzherald.co.nz
• Image: nzherald.co.nz

This land taken by proclamation is to be used for the Convention Centre Precinct.

The Christchurch diocese says this move is not an unexpected development.

It is part of the process which will, among other matters, address compensation.

The Chancery Lane chapel, in the central city area, was destroyed in the February 2011 earthquake.

It was opened by Bishop Joyce at 100 Gloucester Street (Corner of Gloucester Street and Chancery Lane) on December 8, 1958.

Fr Tom Liddy was the first priest priest to minister in the Chapel.

The building was formerly an office block housing NAC (National Airways Corporation).

Bishop Barry Jones still has as an ideal to have a chapel in the inner city in the future redevelopment of the city.

Property may be acquired under Section 55 of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011.

A proclamation to take land must be approved by both the Governor-General and Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery, and publicly notified and gazetted, before the land is vested in the Crown on the fourteenth day after the day on which it is gazetted.

Compensation will be based on the market value of the property at the date of the acquisition.

The owner and any other person who suffers a loss in the compulsory acquisition have the right to appear before the Earthquake Recovery Minister or his delegate to make representations on the compensation.
Source

• The Catholic Diocese of Christchurch
• cera.govt.nz
• Image: 20144.bp.blogspot.com

Wellington archbishop John Dew has produced a discussion document for consideration by all church members detailing proposals for wide ranging structural changes. It includes amalgamating 47 regional parishes into 23.

Proposals to be discussed include combining the Eastbourne, Petone and Waiwhetu parishes; Avalon, Naenae and Taita; and Heretaunga and Stokes Valley.

The Upper Hutt, Lower Hutt and Wainuiomata parishes would remain as they are. Continue reading

The plan, based on an extensive two-year review, was recently presented to parish priests, parish leaders and school principals at meetings held at Viard College in Porirua and in Nelson.

These meetings are part of a process of consultation in which Dew is inviting parish communities to discuss and reflect on the proposals and provide him with constructive ideas and feedback.

Under the proposal, two or more parishes in each pastoral area would combine to create a completely new parish, with one shared council and finance committee. The administration would be set up in one building, with most existing churches retained as 'mass centres', Archbishop Dew said.

Source

• Stuff.co.nz