43
Diocese Implementation Plan: Community outreach must be main focus
By Sean Barron
YOUNGSTOWN
If local Catholic parishes wish to continue to exist and grow, they must have neighborhood outreach and community activism as their main focuses, says the director of the Diocese of Youngstown’s Parish Implementation Plan.
“We cannot exist simply to take care of people who come to church,” the Rev. Nicholas Shori said during a meeting Saturday with the Ethnic Heritage Society and other attendees.
The 90-minute session at Sts. Peter and Paul Croatian Roman Catholic Church, 421 Covington St., on the city’s North Side, was in response to a letter the organization had sent to the Diocese expressing concern about the possible impact of parish consolidation on local ethnic communities.
The Ethnic Heritage Society is dedicated to preserving and celebrating ethnic communities and traditions in the Mahoning Valley, its mission statement says.
Major challenges that many Catholic churches face are dwindling congregations and finances, noted Father Shori, who also is interim administrator at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Church in Lowellville. Many churches see an influx of people during holidays and other special occasions, then attendance drops, he said.
Another challenge is keeping some schools and buildings open during these difficult financial times, Father Shori continued, adding that many other denominations face similar situations.
Specifically, he said, it’s imperative that churches more acutely define themselves by the neighborhoods and people they serve. A good example is St. Dominic and St. Patrick churches’ working together to fight crime in and revitalize a troubled part of Youngstown’s South Side, Father Shori noted.
Another pivotal mission of the church should be strengthening multicultural bases, he told the 25 attendees.
“We can’t keep it within the walls. Ethnic heritage is far more valuable to the people we share it with outside the walls,” he said.
If a church or school is experiencing financial difficulties and may have to close or consolidate, it’s best to inform members of its plight and issue a financial statement, Father Shori explained. The Diocese also needs to be cautious about who it sells a church to as well as what a closed building’s use will be, he added.
When a closure or merger occurs, it’s customary for an administrator to handle religious artifacts by moving them to a secure location or selling them, he said.
To address the priest shortage, deacons and other lay people can be trained for such duties, he continued, adding that the needs of priests who retire or have health problems also should be considered.
Many Catholic churches are being called to exercise a greater role in critical decision-making processes regarding buildings, finances and congregational growth, said Richard S. Scarsella, Sacred Places Dialogue facilitator and president of the William Holmes McGuffey Historical Society.
Along similar lines, some churches are reaching out to non-Catholic communities, he added.
Sacred Places, among other things, encourages parishioners to come up with ideas for the most viable uses of buildings after they close, Scarsella said.