Church Closings in the Diocese of Scranton

From the diocesan website:

The Bishop acknowledged that some parishioners would experience sorrow, perhaps even anger, if the church they are used to attending should close.

“I know that you love your churches,” he said. “But I also know that you love God and your faith even more. You want to see the faith preserved and handed down to future generations. And so, I believe you will recognize that changes must be made to deal with the realities of the present day.

“It’s only natural for us to want things to be the way we prefer. But as I said in my pastoral letter four years ago, we must be prepared to announce the Good News of Jesus Christ not as we would have it, but as Jesus intends it. We must be responsible and grateful stewards of the gifts and talents God has given us. We must use them wisely and productively to bring about the spiritual and pastoral renewal of the Diocese. That is the essence of Called to Holiness and Mission.”

Bishop Martino told The Catholic Light that change is a sign of life, and he cited how Jesus prayed at the Last Supper that all might be one.

“Our Lord’s words should inspire us to worship together as one community, not as separate congregations,” the Bishop said.

He added that the state of the economy and demographics are forcing businesses, governmental units and organizations everywhere to seriously examine their structures and devise ways to consolidate and operate more efficiently. Recent local media accounts have encouraged cooperation across the region.

Is the closure of dozens of churches how Jesus intends us to spread the Gospel in the twenty-first century? Does Jesus’ prayer Ut omnes unum sint really apply to church consolidation? The final decisions announced this weekend in the diocese of Scranton are heartbreaking, and the commentary and rationale presented here does little to ease the pain.

Yes, the people of the diocese of Scranton love God; that’s why we love our churches. We also understand the need for some changes. But the drastic measures announced this weekend will do much more damage than good. These trials will undoubtedly shake the faith of even some of the strongest believers. How will we be able to evangelize when so few structures remain? What message does a closed Catholic church send to those who do not share our faith? How will this process encourage vocations?

Here are the final decisions for the Southern Pastoral region. To view a PDF of the original, or to see results from the other regions, please visit the diocesan website.

FINAL DECISIONS FOR THE SOUTHERN PASTORAL REGION

CLUSTER # 1 – the parishes of Gate of Heaven, Dallas; Our Lady of Victory, Harvey’s
Lake; St. Therese, Shavertown; St. Frances X. Cabrini, Carverton; Our Lady of Mount
Carmel, Lake Silkworth:
• The creation of a Partnership among Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Lake Silkworth and the
linked/consolidated parishes of the cluster. Fiscal viability of Our Lady of Mount Carmel will be
evaluated annually. If it is unable to remain fiscally stable it will be linked to Gate of Heaven,
Dallas.
• St. Therese, Shavertown and St. Frances X. Cabrini, Carverton will consolidate no later than
July 2011 at the St. Therese site. There will be an additional worship site at St. Frances X. Cabrini
(one Mass per weekend and occasional use for weddings and funerals) which will be reviewed in
two years based on geography, attendance, fiscal realities and the availability of priests. The
Mission Church of Blessed Sacrament, Centermoreland will close no later than July 2009.
• Gate of Heaven, Dallas and Our Lady of Victory, Harvey’s Lake will link no later than July 2009
working toward consolidation no later than July 2011 at the Gate of Heaven site. There will be an
additional worship site at Our Lady of Victory (Masses as needed on weekends and occasional use
for weddings and funerals) which will be reviewed in two years based on geography, attendance,
fiscal realities and the availability of priests.

CLUSTER #2 – the parishes of Holy Family, Luzerne; St. Ignatius, Kingston; Holy
Name/St. Mary, Swoyersville; Holy Trinity, Swoyersville; St. Mary
Annunciation, Kingston:
• St. Ignatius, Kingston and St. Mary Annunciation, Kingston, will consolidate no later than
July 2010 at the St. Ignatius site. St. Mary Annunciation should consolidate with St. Ignatius as
soon as possible given the parish debt which will only increase the longer it takes the parish to
consolidate. St. Mary Annunciation Church building will close no later than July 2010. St. Ann
Chapel can continue to be an additional worship site (Masses as needed on weekends and
occasional use for weddings and funerals) but this will be reviewed after two years, based on
geography, attendance, fiscal realities and the availability of priests.
• Holy Name/St. Mary of Czestochowa, Swoyersville and Holy Trinity, Swoyersville will link no
later than July 2009 leading to consolidation no later than July 2012 at the Holy Trinity site. St.
Mary of Czestochowa Church building will close no later than 2012.
• The creation of a Partnership among Holy Family, Luzerne, the consolidated parish in Kingston
and the consolidated parish in Swoyersville.

CLUSTER # 3 – the parishes of Holy Rosary, Wilkes-Barre; Maternity BVM, Wilkes-
-Barre; St. Patrick, Wilkes-Barre; St. Boniface, Wilkes-Barre; Holy Trinity, Wilkes-
-Barre; St. Joseph, Wilkes-Barre Township:

• Maternity of the BVM, Wilkes-Barre, Holy Trinity, Wilkes-Barre, and St. Joseph, Wilkes-
Barre Township will consolidate no later than July 2010 at the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin
Mary site. Holy Trinity and St. Joseph Church buildings will close no later than July 2010.
• St. Patrick, Wilkes-Barre, St. Boniface, Wilkes-Barre and Holy Rosary, Wilkes-Barre will
consolidate no later than July 2010 at the St. Patrick site. Both the Holy Rosary Church building
and St. Boniface Church building will close no later than July 2010.

CLUSTER # 4 – the parishes of St. Nicholas, Wilkes-Barre; St. Mary of the Immaculate
Conception, Wilkes-Barre; St. Joseph (Slovak), Wilkes-Barre; St. Aloysius, Wilkes-Barre;
St. Casimir, Wilkes-Barre (Lyndwood); St. Therese, Wilkes-Barre; Exaltation Holy
Cross, Hanover Twp. (Buttonwood):
• The creation of a Partnership between St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Wilkes-Barre and
St. Nicholas, Wilkes-Barre effective July 2009. Hispanic Ministry is to be located at St. Nicholas
no later than July 2009.
• St. Joseph, Wilkes-Barre, St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Wilkes-Barre, and St. Therese,
Wilkes-Barre will consolidate no later than July 2011 at the St. Mary of the Immaculate
Conception site. Both the St. Joseph Church building and the St. Therese Church building will
close no later than July 2011.
• St. Aloysius, Wilkes-Barre and St. Casimir, Wilkes-Barre (Lyndwood) will consolidate no later
than July 2011 at the St. Aloysius site, pending a meeting with the Diocesan Director of Finance,
the Diocesan Facilities Manager and the Director of Called to Holiness and Mission to determine
the financial cost for renovation of St. Aloysius. If the renovation cost of St. Aloysius is acceptable,
St. Casimir Church building will close no later than July 2011.
• The creation of a Partnership among all the parishes no later than July 2009.
• St. Aloysius, Wilkes-Barre and Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Hanover Township will link no later
than July 2009.

CLUSTER # 5 – the parishes of Blessed Sacrament, Wilkes-Barre;
St. Francis, Wilkes-Barre; St. John the Baptist, Wilkes-Barre;
St. Dominic, Wilkes-Barre:
• St. Francis of Assisi, Wilkes-Barre, St. John the Baptist, Wilkes-Barre, Blessed Sacrament, Wilkes-
Barre, and St. Dominic, Wilkes-Barre will consolidate no later than July 2010 at the St. Dominic
site. The Church buildings of St. John the Baptist, St. Francis of Assisi, and Blessed Sacrament will
close no later than July 2010.

CLUSTER # 6 – the parishes of Sacred Heart of Jesus/St. John the
Evangelist, Wilkes-Barre; St. Stanislaus Kostka, Wilkes-Barre;
Holy Saviour, Wilkes-Barre:
• Sacred Heart of Jesus/St. John the Evangelist, Wilkes-Barre, St. Stanislaus Kostka, Wilkes-Barre
and Holy Saviour, Wilkes-Barre will consolidate no later than July 2010 at the St. Stanislaus site.
There will be an additional worship site (Masses as needed per weekend and occasional use for
weddings and funerals) at Holy Saviour which will be reviewed after two years, based on
geography, attendance, fiscal realities and the availability of priests. Sacred Heart of Jesus /St. John

the Evangelist Church building and the Mission Church of St. Christopher, Bear Creek Township
will close no later than July 2010.

CLUSTER # 7 – the parishes of Our Lady Help Christians, Dorrance; St. Jude, Mountain
Top; St. Patrick, White Haven:
• St. Jude, Mountain Top, Our Lady Help of Christians, Dorrance, and St. Patrick, White Haven will
link no later than July 2010.

CLUSTER # 8 – the parishes of Holy Trinity, Nanticoke; St. Stanislaus, Nanticoke;
St. Mary of Czestochowa, Nanticoke; St. Francis, Nanticoke; St. Joseph
(Slovak), Nanticoke; Holy Child, Sheatown:

• Holy Trinity, Nanticoke; St. Stanislaus, Nanticoke; St. Mary Czestochowa, Nanticoke; St. Francis,
Nanticoke; St. Joseph (Slovak), Nanticoke; and Holy Child, Sheatown will consolidate no later
than July 2010 at the Holy Trinity site. There will be an additional worship site (Masses as needed
per weekend with occasional funerals and weddings) at St. Mary of Czestochowa which will be
evaluated no later than two years after the consolidation, based on geography, attendance, fiscal
realities and the availability of priests. St. Francis Church building will close no later than July
2009. The Church buildings of St. Stanislaus, St. Joseph, and Holy Child will close no later than
July 2010.

CLUSTER # 9 – the parishes of St. Cecilia, Exeter; St. John the Baptist, Exeter;
St. Anthony of Padua, Exeter; Our Lady of Sorrows, West Wyoming;
St. Joseph, Wyoming; Immaculate Conception, West Pittston; Holy Redeemer, Harding:
• The creation of a Partnership among St. Cecilia, Exeter, St. John the Baptist, Exeter, St. Anthony of
Padua, Exeter, Our Lady of Sorrows, West Wyoming, St. Joseph, Wyoming,
Immaculate Conception, West Pittston, and Holy Redeemer, Harding effective July 2009 to begin
accomplishing their stated goals.
• Holy Redeemer, Harding, and Immaculate Conception, West Pittston will consolidate no later than
July 2011 at the Immaculate Conception site. There will be an additional worship site (Masses as
needed per weekend with occasional funerals and weddings) at Holy Redeemer, Harding which will
be evaluated two years after the consolidation, based on geography, attendance, fiscal realities and
the availability of priests.
• St. John the Baptist, Exeter, St. Cecilia, Exeter and St. Anthony, Exeter will consolidate no later
than July 2011 at the St. Anthony site. There will be an additional worship site (Masses as needed
per weekend with occasional funerals and weddings) at St. Cecilia which will be evaluated two
years after the consolidation, based on geography, attendance, fiscal realities and the availability of
priests. St. John the Baptist Church building will close no later than July 2011.
• Our Lady of Sorrows, West Wyoming and St. Joseph, Wyoming will consolidate no later than July
2011 at the St. Joseph site. There will be an additional worship site (Masses as needed per weekend
with occasional funerals and weddings) at Our Lady of Sorrows which will be evaluated two years
after the consolidation, based on geography, attendance, fiscal realities and the availability of
priests.

CLUSTER # 10 – the parishes of Blessed Sacrament, Hughestown; St. Mary Help
Christians, Pittston; St. Mary Assumption, Pittston; Our Lady Mt. Carmel, Pittston;
St. Rocco, Pittston; St. John Evangelist, Pittston:
• Blessed Sacrament, Hughestown, St. Mary Assumption, Pittston and St. Mary Help of Christians,
Pittston will consolidate no later than July 2012 at the St. Mary Help of Christians site. The Church
buildings of Blessed Sacrament and St. Mary Assumption will close no later than July 2012.
• Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Pittston and St. Rocco, Pittston will consolidate no later than July
2012 at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel site. St. Rocco Church building will close no later than July
2012.
• The creation of a Partnership among St. John the Evangelist, Pittston and the two newly
consolidated parishes by July 2012.

CLUSTER # 11– the parishes of St. Martha, Fairmont Springs; St. Mary, Mocanaqua;
Ascension, Mocanaqua; Corpus Christi, Glen Lyon:
• St. Mary, Mocanaqua, Ascension, Mocanaqua, St. Martha, Fairmount Springs and Corpus Christi,
Glen Lyon will consolidate no later than July 2011 at the St. Mary, Mocanaqua site. There will be
additional worship sites (the possibility of weekend Masses with occasional funerals and weddings)
at St. Martha and in Newport Township which will be reviewed after two years, based on
geography, attendance, fiscal realities and the availability of priests. As part of the process of
consolidation further study needs to be done by the Implementation Commission related to the
worship site in Newport Township. Ascension Church building will close no later than July 2011.

CLUSTER # 12 – the parishes of Holy Family, Sugar Notch; St. Charles Borromeo, Sugar
Notch; St. Leo, Ashley:
• Holy Family, Sugar Notch and St. Charles Borromeo, Sugar Notch will consolidate no later than
July 2009 at the Holy Family site. St. Charles Borromeo Church building will close no later than
July 2009.
• The creation of a Partnership between the consolidated Sugar Notch Parishes and the recently
consolidated St. Leo, Ashley no later than July 2009.

CLUSTER # 13 – the parishes of Holy Rosary, Duryea; Sacred Heart, Duryea;
St. Joseph, Duryea; St. Mary, Avoca; SS. Peter and Paul, Avoca; Sacred Heart of
Jesus, Dupont:
Holy Rosary, Duryea, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Duryea, and St. Joseph, Duryea will consolidate
no later than July 2011 at the Holy Rosary site. Holy Rosary will now be a territorial parish with
the boundaries of Duryea Borough. Sacred Heart of Jesus and St. Joseph Church buildings will
close no later than 2011.
SS. Peter and Paul, Avoca and St. Mary, Avoca will link no later than July 2009 and then
consolidate no later than July 2012 at the St. Mary site. SS. Peter and Paul Church building will
close no later than July 2012.
The creation of a Partnership among Sacred Heart of Jesus, Dupont and the newly consolidated
parishes beginning in July 2009.
CLUSTER # 14 – the parishes of St. Maria Goretti, Laflin; St. Mark, Inkerman; SS. Peter
& Paul, Plains; Sacred Heart of Jesus, Plains; St. Joseph, Hudson:.
• Saints Peter & Paul, Plains, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Plains, and St. Joseph, Hudson will consolidate
no later than July 2010 at the Saints Peter & Paul site. Sacred Heart of Jesus and St. Joseph Church
buildings will close no later than July 2010.
• St. Maria Goretti, Laflin and St. Mark, Inkerman will consolidate no later than July 2009 at the St.
Maria Goretti site. St. Mark Church building will close no later than July 2009.
• The creation of a Partnership between the newly consolidated parishes

CLUSTER # 15 – the parishes of All Saints, Plymouth; St. John Baptist, Larksville:
• The creation of a Partnership between All Saints, Plymouth, which has recently consolidated, and
St. John the Baptist, Larksville no later than July 2009. No later than July 2012, All Saints,
Plymouth and St. John the Baptist, Larksville are to study the demographics and financial statistics
for viability and consider whether linkage or consolidation might be an option.