“We are working here not to preserve buildings, but to preserve the faith,” Bishop Edgar da Cunha said
FALL RIVER - Major changes are coming to the Catholic Diocese of Fall River.
Over the next year and a half, all of its 82 parishes will be analyzing their strengths and weaknesses, and trying to figure out how to revitalize themselves. Some parishes will likely be recommended to be closed or merged.
“We are working here not to preserve buildings, but to preserve the faith,” Bishop Edgar da Cunha said during a press conference Thursday at the diocesan chancery offices on Highland Avenue.
Da Cunha said the “strategic planning process” underway in his diocese may include parish closings and mergers. He said no specific parishes have been targeted, but added that parishioners in some struggling churches will need to make difficult decisions.
“In some cases, not every church building will be there in the future,” he said.
During an hour-long conversation with reporters, the bishop frankly spoke about his diocese’s changing demographics and statistics that show declining numbers in Mass attendance, which prompted his predecessors to close Catholic schools and merge or shutter parishes.
“We have parishes that are very strong and sustainable, and other parishes that are struggling with the number of people attending… We have a few in difficult situations,” said da Cunha, a native of Brazil who became bishop of Fall River in September 2014.
Da Cunha declined to speculate on the future of certain parishes in Fall River such as St. Bernadette Church, which is trying to revitalize itself after years of declining Mass attendance, or St. Anne’s Church, where the upper church is in need of repairs and has been closed for almost three years.
The bishop said it will likely cost “several millions of dollars” to repair St. Anne’s Church, but added that a complete evaluation has not yet been done on the building. He said the diocese is working with the parishioners there to figure out their options.
In The Anchor, the diocesan newspaper, da Cunha last week unveiled his strategic planning process that he said will be happening over the next 18 months and aims to revitalize parishes, diocesan ministries and to offer support for priests who increasingly feel overburdened with administrative responsibilities.
Each parish received the results of parishioner surveys that da Cunha said found common trends such as decreasing Mass attendance, and fewer people being married in the Church and having their children baptized or attend religious education classes.
Some parishes, especially those in suburban areas, are doing well while others, notably the century-old ethnic churches clustered in the cities, are struggling with Mass attendance, finances and crumbling facilities. Demographics account for a large portion of that scenario. It no longer makes sense, in many cases, for the diocese to have two or three parishes within walking distance of one another in Fall River, New Bedford or Taunton.
“We come from a culture that my parish is my little kingdom… That culture needs to change,” da Cunha said. “It’s not just bricks and mortar, it’s people and people working together in collaboration with each other.”
The bishop said his intention is to give parishioners a sense of "ownership" in the process by having them assess their own parishes and make recommendations to the diocese. Da Cunha acknowledged that some parishioners will probably have difficulty presenting or accepting any proposal to close the church buildings where they grew up and received their sacraments.
"We have to help them see the light," the bishop said. "That's what this conversation is all about, seeing the light."
Over the next several weeks, da Cunha will be attending "listening sessions" throughout the diocese to hear input from regular lay Catholics. In Fall River, a listening session is scheduled from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on April 12 at St. Mary Cathedral. The cathedral will also host a Portuguese-language listening session on May 11.
Email Brian Fraga at bfraga@heraldnews.com