Catholic Parishes in Transition

Catholic parishes in the United States have been going through some major structural changes in the last couple of decades. The merging, closing and collaborating of parishes has become an undeniable part of the Catholic landscape in the United States. With the declining number of priests and religious as well as the significant shifts in the demographics of the Catholic population, the number of parishes without a resident pastor continues to grow. Furthermore, closed, merged and collaborating parishes have been on the rise, and they will continue in the years to come mainly in the Northeast and the Midwest parts of the country. The aim of this book is to develop helpful pastoral recommendations for pastors and parish leaders who oversee the process of closing, merging and collaborating of parishes. In addition, this book will present a concise historical development of Catholic parishes in connection with its canonical rights and obligations. The theological and theoretical aspects of this book will serve as a way to offer some insights into what it means to be a member of a parish community. No parish can survive without a specific mission and vision for the future. This book will offer some practical ideas used to assess various parish ministries and the overall vibrancy of a parish community. First hand experiences of pastors and parish leaders will be used in order to understand how parish mergers, closures and collaborations affect all parties involved in this process and to point out some recommended and discouraged pastoral practices.