NY Archdiocese closes 31 Churches Due To Lack of Attendance

[stromboli]

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/archdiocese-new-york-merge-55-parishes-report-article-1.1996146

The Catholic Archdiocese of New York will close 31, and merge 24 of its 368 parishes, officials announced.

The individual mergers, which will occur by Aug. 1, 2015, were announced by the organization Sunday.

The archdiocese announced 31 churches will no longer have regular Masses and other sacraments. In the other 24 mergers both churches will remain open for religious events.

The closed churches include six in Manhattan, four in the Bronx, three in Staten Island and 11 in Westchester, Rockland, Ulster and Orange counties.

“This time of transition in the history of the archdiocese will undoubtedly be difficult for people who live in parishes that will merge,” Timothy Cardinal Dolan said in a statement. “There will be many who are hurt and upset as they experience what will be a change in their spiritual lives, and I will be one of them.”

The cardinal received input from the parishes and a 40 person advisory committee for the decision.

Dolan wrote Thursday in a column that at least 50 parishes â€" about 14% of the archdiocese's 368 parishes â€" would undergo a "purgatory" of sorts and merge.

"I wish it could be different. I'd rather be adding parishes, or expanding the ones we have," Dolan wrote.

The archdiocese includes the Bronx, Manhattan, Staten Island and parts of the Hudson Valley upstate. The organization could no longer fill the seats in all its parishes, Dolan wrote.

Nothing quite as uplifting as a "for sale" sign in front of a church.

[SGOS]

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/archdiocese-new-york-merge-55-parishes-report-article-1.1996146

Nothing quite as uplifting as a "for sale" sign in front of a church.

They can be made into interesting condos.

I understand that New York City is a pretty big town, but that still sounds like a lot of churches.  Also, I would have expected NYC to have a rather high percentage of Catholics.  Well maybe it did 20 years ago.

[Solitary]

We can only hope this is a trend that will keep growing everywhere.

[PickelledEggs]

This post makes me happy.

Sent from your mom

[The Skeletal Atheist]

Good. Good.

[stromboli]

I think every church should be converted into a house of ill repute. Seems fitting, if you know what I mean. A step up from being a pedophile's play room.

[Hydra009]

I think every church should be converted into a house of ill repute. Seems fitting, if you know what I mean. A step up from being a pedophile's play room.

Sounds like a plan.  And you don't even have to take out the kneeling bench.   

[Hydra009]

Nothing quite as uplifting as a "for sale" sign in front of a church.

Yeah, but they're built about as fast.  Sad to say that most of these former congregations aren't leaving the faith - they're just flocking to different churches.  Sorry to be a downer about that.

But the good news is that there has been a very slow but steady decline.  According to the ARIS poll, 26.2% of respondents said they were Catholic.  In 2008, that number was 25.1%.

The funny thing is that in looking that figure up, I've noticed some Catholic sites tout their growth - in absolute terms - while quietly ignoring the decline relative to the general population.  ♪  Always look on the bright side of life... ♫

[DunkleSeele]

Sounds like a plan.  And you don't even have to take out the kneeling bench.   

Good plan. Let them have a weekly "naughty nun" night and I'm in.

[Munch]

[Atheon]

Turn them into nightclubs, brothels and casinos.

[Hydra009]

Turn them into nightclubs, brothels and casinos.

All of the above have a better return on investment.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

Just in time for the evangelicals to move in and buy them up at fire sale prices..

[SGOS]

Just in time for the evangelicals to move in and buy them up at fire sale prices..

One advantage the evangelical movement has over the Catholic Church is that it demands that people become more involved in their own salvation, as opposed to just letting the priests take care of it for you.  The downside for the evangelicals is that people supposedly read the Bible, make contact with their personal god, and then find the church that pushes the bullshit that matches their own bullshit.  As a result, the evangelicals don't have a magnificent centralized depository of wealth like the Vatican or the Mormon Temple. It's scattered around.

I think the personal involvement thing is something people like.  Even as a kid, I used to look at the catholic church and all I could see were priests and puppets.  How much fun can that be?  And keep in mind this is your own personal salivation and your way of avoiding eternal torment.  Do you really want to leave that in the hands of a bunch of child molesting priests?

[Solitary]

Now! Now! There are some good honest Priests like the one that wouldn't let my wife and I get married in the Church until he changed atheist to protestant on the marriage form.