Saturday, October 28, 2006
CLUSTERING IN MAINE
There is only one diocese in Maine, the Diocese of Portland, under the direction of Bishop Richard J. Malone, installed 3/31/04.
The Bangor Daily News reports on clustering activities:
There may be a new church in town._ As Maine’s 234,000 Roman Catholics redraw the lines of their parishes and sell off property to cope with a shrinking number of priests, their bishop has approved a proposal to sell property in Dexter, Dover-Foxcroft, Milo and Sangerville to help pay for a new church serving the Penquis region.
It’s part of a statewide reorganization, launched 18 months ago, to address shifting demographics. The plan abolishes traditional parish lines and calls on the laity to play a much bigger role in the life of the church.
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The clustering plan detailed in the article includes five parishes, four of which will merge into a megaparish, selling off their parish buildings and using the funds to build a new larger church. The new church will seat 250 to 300 people.
In four years the diocese expects to be down to 61 diocesan priests under 70 who will have to serve the entire state.
