Rather than welcoming the many Catholics who God calls to priesthood, the Bishops discriminate against women, the non-celibate and the openly homosexual. These exclusions are a grave injustice against those discriminated against, against our Church and against our God.(Fr Roy Bourgeois)

The exclusions have also caused a severe shortage of priests.

The Bishops are coping with the priest shortage by restructuring parishes. Restructuring parishes means closing small/medium sized churches (seizing parish assets); merging parishes (closing churches, forcing parishioners to pay for expensive big churches); or clustering churches.

In Ohio only the Diocese of Columbus has not restructured. The Bishop of Columbus had planned a pastoral letter for May 2009, but the letter was cancelled. We believe the canceled pastoral letter was supposed to announce parish restructuring. The Bishop Columbus will eventually have to restructure parishes.

Your parish has a right to exist. Wherever two or three are gathered in the name of Jesus (in your parish church) is the locus of the Body of Christ. Any parish being closed has a right to make a canonical appeal of the bishop’s decision to close that parish. But you will only have 10 working days from the date of the announcement (the pastoral letter) in which to place the canonical appeal into the hands of the bishop. For information on how to appeal and/or fight parish closings and mergers, go to FutureChurch’s Save Our Parish Community web site at www.futurechurch.org/sopc. This web site provides a “Crises Kit”, educational and organizing resources, and the names of independent Canon Lawyers.

Your parish has a right to exist. You are the Church. Decide for yourself whether you want your parish closed or merged.