The St. Louis archdiocese has begun the painful process of deciding which parishes and Catholic schools will survive upcoming cutbacks. KMOX's Kevin Killeen sat down with Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski to find out more.
According to Archbishop Rozanski's staff, the plan is to reduce the current 178 parishes to about 100.
"We still have a lot of input to go through," Rozanski said. "We still have, what's crucial over these next two months in October and November, are the listening sessions."
That will entail hearing from people who sit in the pews who will give ideas about which parishes will make the cut. He said the criteria involves a couple different things.
"We look at demographics, how have the demographics changed," he said. "For example, in places of our archdiocese, where decades ago, they were farm parishes, they're now these huge parishes."
Archbishop Rozanski added that they'll look at the Catholic presence in each community and what that presence means. He also adds that people who have ideas or input should attend the listening sessions this fall.
The plan to reorganize have been in place for years, and the final plan will be announced on May 28 of next year. The plans will begin implementation starting in the fall of 2023 and continuing through 2026.
Hear more about the plans for parish reorganization from Total Information AM:
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