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The release earlier this month of the last piece of the parish reorganization plan known as Making All Things New came at a promising moment for the Church in New York.
We’re already in countdown mode for the visit this fall of Pope Francis, whose open style and focus on mercy and helping the poor has electrified Catholics and non-Catholics alike, offering an unparalleled opportunity for evangelization.
We’re in the home stretch of the restoration of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, a costly but necessary project that already has revealed the gleaming jewel—a treasure of the Church and of the city—that was hidden under decades of grime.
Our three newest auxiliary bishops are approaching their first anniversaries of consecration, and Cardinal Dolan has just ordained 10 new priests to serve the archdiocese, the largest number in years.
Now, with the long-needed redrawing of outdated parish boundaries and the repurposing of money-draining old buildings, a streamlined archdiocese is positioned to harness the good will of the pope and the enthusiasm of its new priests and bishops to chart a course for the future.
Of course, the closing of a parish or the merging of two or three neighboring parishes is a painful process, and we understand and sympathize with those Catholics who must adjust when the reorganization takes effect Aug. 1.
Cardinal Dolan was right, however, when he said the decision to streamline was effectively a choice between maintaining an institution and recovering a sense of mission.
“For too long we have been in the business of maintaining buildings and structures that were established in the 19th and earliest 20th centuries to meet the needs of the people of that time,” he said, “but which are not necessary to meet the needs of the Church and its people as it exists today.”
So what does the archdiocese see as its mission going forward? The cardinal’s definition is evangelization and outreach, preaching the Gospel, performing works of charity and educating people in the faith.
A good vision, to be sure, and one that’s vitally needed in the current environment, with its increasing number of people—especially young adults in the “millennial generation”—who don’t consider themselves as part of any religion, according to a new nationwide survey.
But while that is a troubling trend, it helps to dig a little deeper.
For instance, of the 15.8 percent of adults in the Pew Religious Landscape Study who answered “nothing in particular” when asked about religious affiliation, almost half of them said to a follow-up question that religion is “very” or “somewhat” important in their lives.
And that’s where a forward-looking archdiocese has an opening.
There’s the opportunity to follow the lead of Pope Francis in his mission to spread the “joy of the Gospel.”
There’s the example of Cardinal Dolan, who relishes mixing it up with the people throughout the archdiocese, and is always cheerful and accessible, whether it’s one-on-one, with a group or through the reach of the media.
And with the stronger parishes resulting from Making All Things New, there’s the chance to offer service to the community, volunteer opportunities and occasions for interaction and fellowship. Many people, maybe a good many with “no particular religion,” would welcome an involvement with a parish and the chance to follow Christ by serving His people.
Mass and the Eucharist will, of course, remain the core of Catholic life. But it’s also true that the most positive vision of a future Church is one in which the number of churches is not as important as the number of Catholics who proudly live and proclaim their faith.
