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Pocono News Section
Scranton Diocese Announces Church Closings
Scranton Diocese Announces Church Closings - Saturday, January 31, 2009 at 10:27PM EST
Reported by: Laurie Monteforte
Saturday, Jan 31, 2009 @ 10:27pm EST
NANTICOKE - Parishioners in the Scranton Diocese are praying for extra faith as they're learning which churches will close and which will consolidate.
Eleven counties are affected and the news is heart breaking to many.
WYOU News visited Nanticoke Saturday night. Three churches in that community will close. Catholic leaders say there just aren't enough parishioners to keep every church open.
More people than usual came to hear the Saturday night mass at Holy Trinity in Nanticoke. They wanted to find out what Bishop Joseph Martino had to say about church consolidations. The Bishop did not visit any churches. He spoke through a pre-recorded message. In that message he said, "My only intention of addressing you through this audio system is to respect you and show you that I care for you."
The bishop announced the following changes for Nanticoke area churches:
Holy Trinity will remain open.
Saint Mary's will open for select services, funerals and weddings.
Saint Stanislaus, Saint Josephs, and Holy Child will close by 2010.
"It's sad but what are you going to do," said Bernadine Macijczak of Nanticoke.
It seemed many people were prepared for the announcement.
Joanne Minsavage of Nanticoke said, "t's inevitable. There's just not enough people coming to church." They will miss attending the church where they married. But they, and many others, say Catholics need to look ahead and focus on faith.
"We all need to go forward. That's what it's all about. That's what Christianity is all about," said Dr. Jacqueline Cain.
Father James Nash added, "We will make it and rise from this to be a powerful wonderful witness to Jesus Christ in Nanticoke and that's our goal."
The Bishop will announce all of the church consolidations by 7 Sunday night. Once he releases it, it will be posted here on www. pahomepage. com.
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