CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- With Christmas approaching, the Archdiocese of Chicago announced Friday another round of church and school consolidations as part of the "Renew My Church" plan.
Thirteen churches and five schools in Rogers Park, Edgewater, Jefferson Park, Portage Park, Avondale, and Old Irving Park will be affected in the latest round of consolidations set to go into effect in July 2021.
There has been some pushback by some parishioners on consolidation efforts made by the Archdiocese of Chicago, with some even looking to the Vatican to delay changes announced so far.
When asked about if any of the decisions made by the archdiocese would be reversed based on the outcry, Archdiocese of Chicago Vicar General Bishop Robert Casey gives a fairly opened ended answer.
"The church doesn't belong to the pope, or belong to the bishops, or belong to the priests. All those people have a voice within the church," he said.
Bishop Casey added that it hasn't been easy.
"I grew up in the Archdiocese of Chicago. I have been serving in it for 26 years or more now, so I know how difficult these decisions are," he said.
But Bishop Casey defends the need to address a modern reality for the church, one without use for large rectories or convents.
"And so many of our parishes were built to serve a different reality from time's past that's not our reality currently," he said.
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He said all the Renew My Church decisions thus far have been made by input by teams made up of representatives of each parish and school. Bishop Casey said it is still uncertain what will happen to the vacated properties.
All movement in the Renew My Church process can be tracked on the archdiocese's website. More closures are expected to come.