While bishops wage war on contraception, 48 Detroit area churches are set to close their doors.

[RandySF]

Late last fall, Vigneron said the church realignments could result in as many as 48 of about 270 parishes being closed within the next five years. But that number is likely to drop based on Vigneron rejecting some closure recommendations made to him by an Archdiocesan Pastoral Council in November.

For example, Vigneron spared from the chopping block the eastside Detroit parishes of Nativity, Good Shepherd, St. Augustine/St. Monica and St. Charles Borromeo. The rejected recommendation for those parishes was to merge them, close them and build one new environmentally-friendly church for the E. Jefferson corridor.

The archdiocese says that 35 percent of parishes in Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park are having problems paying their bills; as well as 20 percent in the suburbs.

Moreover, the archdiocese says it will have about 100 fewer priests in 10 years available to work at parishes. The archdiocese ordains roughly four priests a year. It has about 290 priests now working in parishes, and their average age is 57.



http://www.freep.com/article/20120218/NEWS05/120218024/Metro-Detroit-Catholics-learn-fate-their-parishes?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

[Lugnut]

1. Most of the Catholic churches around here have shut their doors.

One small town near here had four parishes but have only one today.

[pstokely]

2. Going where the cash is

nt

[Icicle]

3. They are

taking the money and running - someone should point this out to all those "small government conservatives" who tell us to turn to our church instead of our government.

[physioex]

4. They can't shut down all of them for all I care. EOM