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Another big change in our area’s Catholic community is the
plan to close 9 metro parishes and consolidate 60 parishes into 21; we have 270
parishes in the greater Detroit Metro area.
I remember the last big parish closing plan 20 years ago
under then Cardinal Szoka; people were really ticked off at that time too but
it’s a numbers game; no people, no parish.
I still remember growing up in a tightly knit Polish
community on the West side of Detroit
Our local parish was St. Cunegunda and it had a grade school
through 8th grade taught by nuns in the old garb. The church and
school were both within walking distance.
The parish next to us (also within walking distance) was St. Andrew and it had a high school but a small one and
there was no room for me so I had to take two buses to go all the way to Holy
Redeemer which had room for me and for many from the downriver area. I did have
a public school within walking distance (Chadsey) but that was a no, no for a
good Catholic boy like me.
I think those parishes are closed now although St. Cunegunda
may be catering to a large Hispanic population that replaced the Polish
population that left. Chadsey, the public school has also closed.
Here in Canton , I have one
parish within walking distance (Resurrection
Church ) on Warren
I can understand the movement of parishes following
population shifts but current closings and consolidations are also due to lack
of priests to service those parishes and here lies the real problem.
Reading the letters to the editor in today’s paper there
were many with negative views of the liturgy changes; many consider the changes
as backward. There were also letter addressing the closing of parishes in our
area and many of those letters suggested allowing women to be priests and also
allowing married men to become priests; ending the celibacy rule.
Time marches on…
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