[sinkspur]

Of course the article does not mention the St Louis Archdiocese ordained 8 men to the priesthood last year and has been fairly sucessful in recruitment. Of course with Abp. elect Burke, that situation will only get better.

But, like many dioceses around the country, there will not be enough to avoid closing parishes and instituting the Vatican-approved Rite for Sunday Eucharistic Service in the Absence of a Priest, at least for a time.

I vaguely recall Desdemona saying that St. Louis was not vigorously recruiting permanent deacons. A big mistake.

[RFT1]

Many parishes that are being closed have had the number of parishoners in declined for decades. Where I am in the Midwest, there are several inner city parishes in the diocese I live in that are down to two weekend masses(one on Satdurday Afternoon and one on Sunday morning) that may have a toltal of 150-200 parishoners, and take in a weekly collection of $2000 or even $1000, these parishes can no longer sustain themselves.

Many of these parishes are remnants of the old "Ethnic" communities such as Irish, Germans, French and Poles etc, in areas that are now mostly non Catholics because of demographic changes, some of these parishes sustain themselves by being havens for liturgical refugees from the suburban parishes.