Posted on 04/15/2024 6:51:07 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The bridge collapse in Baltimore has ground many businesses to a halt, leaving municipal leaders scrambling to figure out what the next steps should be. But that's not the only thing collapsing in Charm City. After years of planning and adjustments, the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore is also launching some major adjustments. In what is being described as a "retooling of operations," the Catholic Church is preparing to consolidate the number of parishes in the city and the surrounding suburbs from 61 to 21. In other words, there will be barely one-third the number of worship centers for Catholics in Baltimore than there previously were. These changes reflect the shrinking population in general, but also the decline in people who regularly attend services each week. It's a sad statement about the soul of what was once one of America's greatest and most prosperous cities. (Baltimore Sun)
The Archdiocese of Baltimore has been working for two years to develop a plan for retooling its operations in the city, and officials have taken their biggest step so far in asserting how serious they are about changing its way of doing business in Baltimore.
A proposal shared Sunday with parishioners would, if approved, cut the number of parishes in the city and several suburbs from from 61 to 21. It would slash the number of worship sites in the same area from 59 to 26.
The sites that would be lost reflect more than 730 years of Catholic life in the city.
The Archdiocese describes the new arrangement as a "leaner and more responsive" model required to meet the needs of congregants during a period of "existential crisis" for the city as a whole. The Baltimore auxiliary bishop in charge of the transition said that they are hoping to help rebuild "neighborhoods in decline."
In downtown Baltimore, St. Vincent de Paul has been in continuous operation since 1841. There is no way to estimate how many people have worshipped there over the course of nearly 200 years. Soon it will be closed. The Catholic Church in the city has been facing a number of challenges in recent years. They filed for bankruptcy last September. Two months later, St. Benedict closed after it was revealed that its priest had been involved in a sex scandal and coverup. The church is claiming that neither of those incidents were related to the reorganization, but they clearly didn't help matters.
Overall, these changes are more likely a reflection of the fact that church attendance has been dropping for years. That's true of all religions, not only in Baltimore but across the nation. Charm City has been particularly hard hit, however. The rolls of regular protestant churchgoers dropped four percent over the past decade but Catholic attendance fell twelve percent during the same period. Recent Gallup polling shows that more than one-fifth of Americans now claim no religious affiliation. Christian faiths have taken the largest hits, while Jewish and Muslim worship centers have enjoyed modest increases in attendance over the same period.
While it would be hard to pin down specific numbers, it's difficult to ignore the likelihood that this decline in church attendance is a symptom of the broader problems afflicting Baltimore as a society. Rampant crime rates and endemic poverty plague the city. Single-parent households are the rule rather than the exception. School attendance has plummeted. Those with the ability to do so have been fleeing. The population of the City of Baltimore fell by nearly 20,000 between 2021 and 2023. Churches and a common belief in God help build communities and encourage civil behavior. Without faith, a void is created that may be filled with loneliness, hopelessness, and lawlessness. If the community leaders who are currently working to rebuild Baltimore truly want to make progress, perhaps they could start by encouraging people to find their way back to church each Sunday.
The next pope needs to be from the Third World. Like Africa or India.
Lose the hell bound pope for starters.
It hasn't for 62 years and the result is the disaster we have now.
The thing we see today, which was virtually non-existent in the not too distant past, is women 'pastors'. Many of these women pastors have become so by virtue of their husband being the pastor. You see this across the Protestant world.
The scripture doesn't seem to support the idea of a woman 'pastor'. Hummmmm! It's funny how Protestants boast about sola scriptura but then ignore or revise scripture that's not convenient - things like men and women roles in the church and divorce to name a few - these topics/teachings seem to be fungible.
"Why then,” they asked, “did Moses order a man to give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?c” Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of your hardness of heart; but it was not this way from the beginning. Now I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman, commits adultery.” - Matt 19: 7-9
The “obedience” thing is too deeply set in. Degenerate “bishops” who hate devout Catholics have a lot to do with the apparent destruction of the Church.
do you remember what church it was in Baltimore ?
and all very carefully couched words and terms to obey the dictats of “ sustainability,-climate change and global leaders( WEF)...15 min cities?? 15 minute churches.
After doing extensive reading I came to the conclusion churches that will be closed will be re-purposed into community centers . This isnt a bad idea but thrse community centers will be hubs to serve global policies and initiatives; DEI, etc.
pope frsncis approved the blessing of gay marriages am i right?
you should go ahead and do some reading on how these initiatives are worded and I’ ll tell you there is nothing spiritual about any of this .
Its very corporate , dei etc..
the Church has fallen very far .
imho there is no catholic church anymore.
St Benedicts in Balto Md was dismantled in 2 seconds by the removal of Fr. Pascal.
He has been accused of alleged sexual impropriety.
What happens when Christian justice and charity are replaced by marxist social justice.
It’s a “small tent” mentality that shrinks the church to fit the congregation of elites rather than engaging the hard work of growing the Church to save sinners.
Everybody wants to go to Heaven, but nobody wants to die.
RE: but nobody wants to die.
Not yet, but eventually they will want to.
The current pope is from Argentine. Another Leftist like Pope Francis would be a disaster, but there are some outstanding conservative cardinals and bishops in the Third World.
That's only part of it.
Listen to any male pastors. They're all "woke".
Now go to a Mosque and listen to an Imam. His message will be inspiring.
Also, it's human nature to side with the winner. Right now, the Muslims are winning.
I stopped outside a church house where the citizens like to sit
They say they want the kingdom
But they don’t want God in it
- Johnny Cash singing U2’s “The Wanderer”
Too many molestation scandals. Boston gets a lot of the attention, but plenty in Baltimore too. Eventually that takes hold, people don’t want to trust a church that actively allows that stuff. They want to know their kids are safe. And of course the ones that weren’t they usually leave.
Saint Benedict’s Church
2612 Wilkins Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21223
SaintBenedict.org
(Ought to be .com but it’s not)
I have pictures of the sales floor and thought I would post them, but there’s no need! They don’t hesitate to show it on Google maps (LOL)
One of the funniest pictures has a nativity set for $2000. “Layaway available“
Do you have any more doubts about my story?
I know St. Bendicts very well and what you saw in the narthex was created 40 yrs ago to help finance the parish. There was no other available space on church grounds to pto open the gift shop.
If you are a non catholic, icons, medals and prayer items may seem odd to you but as a catholic we dont pray or worship these pictures. They are simply a reminder of that individuael and their walk with God.
St. Francis is a good example - many millions of times over you will see his image with animals and a Prayer for Peace.
It may all look very odd and appear to be crass commercialism but this gift shop jump started the parish back to good financial health 40 yrs ago.
Maybe they could sell their icons in their gymnasium!?
https://maps.app.goo.gl/5dJWaWjj3Dj2rSF89?g_st=i
Your explanation lacks credibility.
But I guess you already know that.
My explanation is fully credible having been a life long parishoner.
OK
whatever.
Make sense
Like this:
WHEN 💎GOING GfirstETS TOUGH KEEP GOING💎 IfIT DOESNT KiILL yOU I wil MAKE YOU STRONGER💎
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