At church this evening the priest had a couple big announcements;
A) The Cathedral parish in Dubuque that I'm a member of - St. Raphael's - is going to be clustered with St. Patrick's later this year. Kind of going back to the roots as St. Patrick's was begun as a mission of the Cathedral and it's first pastor was the pastor of the Cathedral parish.
B) Our current pastor has decided to retire as a result of this so that the challenges of uniting the two parishes can be taken up by a younger priest with more energy. He's in his 70s now and would be near the mandatory retirement age in about three years. (Besides, he hears the golf courses in the area calling to him).
3. Depending on the culture and the situation at the other parish, this
may be perceived as a suppression/take-over. If this is a case of a parish that is viable in every respect except for the priest shortage, then people are apt to be very upset.
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