Lay fury as diocese plans parish purge

Shrewsbury shake-up heralds nationwide pastoral rethink
By Luke Coppen PARISHIONERS in Shrewsbury Diocese were "up in arms" this week after the publication of controversial proposals for pastoral reorganisation which could signal and shape reforms in dioceses around the country.
They have vowed to fight plans for a radical overhaul of the diocese, which will remove priests from parish posts, turn prominent churches into Mass centres and include the sale of parish halls and presbyteries.
The outcry follows the publication a fortnight ago of a "green paper" announcing far-reaching changes to the structure of the diocese.
One of the most controversial proposals is the association of three churches in Stalybridge, Cheshire. The green paper proposes that the largest church, St Peter's, loses its parish priest and becomes a Mass centre, serviced by a priest from a neighbouring parish.
St Peter's parish priest, Fr Donal Dwyer, said that his parishioners were "hurt and upset" by the proposal. He said: "They are up in arms. They feel they have a viable church. They can't understand why they should close the biggest parish of the three."
Parishioner Dolores Gordon-Smith said: "There is a feeling of shocked disbelief. St Peter's is still a very active church with close ties to other denominations."
Other parishes seemed resigned to closure. Fr Peter Wright, of SS John Fisher and Thomas More Church, Wythenshawe, said he accepted that the proposal to close his church and use the school hall as a Mass centre was in the interests of the diocese.
Shrewsbury Diocese's financial secretary Fr John Feeney strongly defended the pastoral shake-up. "Like every diocese we are in the situation where there are falling numbers and revenue will be in decline. We need to rationalise and do it as sensibly and sensitively as we can," he said. He added that Bishop Brian Noble — who is receiving treatment for cancer of the oesophagus — was fully involved in the consultation and is calling for a "generous and realistic" response to the proposals.
Other dioceses seem set to follow Shrewsbury Diocese's lead. Hexham and Newcastle Diocese issued a consultation paper last week, warning that the laity would have to take over many of the tasks of parish priests. Meanwhile, Bishop John Brewer of Lancaster has announced a renewal 45iamme stressing the role of the laity in "working with a reduced number of priests".
The bishops of England and Wales last week considered a proposal from the National Conference of Priests to form a committee to look into the nationwide lack of priests.
NCP chairman Fr Philip Sumner said: "Everything that Shrewsbury has done would be fed through. Other dioceses can learn from what they've done."