BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Catholic Diocese of Buffalo is closing parishes and worship spaces as it looks to "rightsize and reshape."
The diocese announced Tuesday it will be shutting down 34 percent of its parishes and 38 percent of its worship spaces.
As the meeting continues, a very reliable source saying the diocese is looking at “34% reduction in parishes. 38% reduction in worship spaces.” https://t.co/4FlnC6HcTc
— Eileen Buckley (@eileenwkbw) May 28, 2024
The diocese hosted a news conference at Saint Philip the Apostle in Cheektowaga where it discussed how it would be moving forward with its 160 parishes across eight counties in Western New York.
But before the news conference was held there was a mandatory meeting for all the priests across the diocese, where 180 priests attended Tuesday.
“I see this today, meeting with all of our priests, as a historic moment in the life of our diocese,” remarked Bishop Michael Fisher, Catholic Diocese of Buffalo.
CRITICAL CHALLENGES FOR THE DIOCESE:
- Financial strain due to Chapter 11
- Significant priest shortage
- Declining Mass attendance
- Decline in younger congregation
- Excess property maintenance
The diocese says the plan became apparent following a comprehensive and collaborative planning process directed by its Road to Renewal division.
The move to resize and reshape comes as attendance has seen a big drop over recent years. In 2012, about 155,000 people were attending weekend mass in the Buffalo Diocese. But in 2021, that number fell to just 60,000.
Also learning from source church closings will be based on “contributing households” and NOT “registered households”. @WKBW https://t.co/LuohfdPqvF
— Eileen Buckley (@eileenwkbw) May 28, 2024
The diocese says the number of contributing households is also getting smaller. in 2012, the diocese had 118,000 contributing households. Nine years later, in 2021, that number dropped to about 70,000.
The Buffalo Diocese says fewer students are also attending their schools. Catholic school enrollment has seen a steep decline over the past decade, dropping by 24 percent.
Fewer priests in the diocese is another driving factor in this decision. 76 is the average age of a priest in Buffalo. In six years, 63 percent of diocesan priests will be between the age of 65 and 70.
“The reality today continues to change. As we know, we continue to be working our way through our chapter 11 reorganization, and we need to take a harder look at how we are restructuring and right sizing the diocese here in Buffalo in light of a dwindling population, changing demographics and fewer resources,” Bishop Fisher stated. “Our Catholic footprint is no longer what it used to resemble. We are not the church we were 40 years ago, 20 years ago, 10 years ago, let alone five years ago. We are a changing entity and I think that's the nature of church anyway.”
Officials with the diocese say the plan presented Tuesday results from lessons learned as parishes came together in the Family of Parishes model that began in December of 2021.
“Our desire to re-rightsized, to right-size this diocese so that we can, in collaboration, emerge from chapter 11. And, again, move forward with hope, hope into a future where the church plays an important role in the people of our lives and the people of this diocese,” reflected Bishop Fisher.
Father Bryan Zielenieski, leads the Road to Renewal process. He spoke at Tuesday's news briefing.
“I want to acknowledge one of the first things that was mentioned is that the renewal is not about closing parishes. I hear that over and over again. We have to acknowledge that circumstances have changed. We shouldn’t have said that the way we did when we started the process because we have to be realistic about our changing climate, culture, changing demographics, changing populations,” commented Father Zielenieski.
Father Zielenieski talked about how the diocese is working to rightsize as it faces multiple critical challenges of lower Mass attendance, a dwindling population of Catholics, fewer people giving financial to the churches and fewer priests.
“I think we're aware of all of those, the financial strain due to chapter 11. Significant pre-shortage, excess property maintenance, we spend much of our time focusing on buildings and properties instead of on mission, declining Mass attendance. Our average parish congregation over 60% is over the age of 66 years of age, and only nine to 12% are younger members in our congregations today," noted Father Zielenieski.
HISTORY OF THE BUFFALO DIOCESE SEX ABUSE SCANDAL:
The Buffalo Catholic Diocese has been dealing with hundreds of child sex abuse claims over the years.
2019: After multiple 7 Eyewitness News investigations revealed mishandling of those sexual abuse cases by former Buffalo Bishop Richard J. Malone, the scandal-plagued shepherd resigned from office.
2020: Months after Malone's resignation, the Buffalo Catholic Diocese declared bankruptcy, filing Chapter 11.
2024: As the diocese entered year four of its bankruptcy, settlement negotiations remained ongoing.
Regional Vicariate meetings will be held across the diocese in June to review closing and merging recommendations. They can also submit any alternative suggestions by July. The list of parish closings will be announced on September 1st. Closures and mergers would not take place until October of this year through June of next year.
Michael Cimasi and Dr. Susan Tominey joined 7 Voices on Tuesday to discuss and provide insight into the Diocese's plan to "rightsize and reshape." You can watch the full conversation on our YouTube page here.
