The next step

Some stories seem to be never-ending.  Take for instance the process of reorganization and restructuring of parishes and resources which has been ongoing for the better part of a decade or so in these parts.  Most recently, under the guidance of the diocesan administration, certain parishes in our territory were asked to conduct a series of feasibility studies and to provide statistical information about the life of their communities.  This information would then form a part of the decision making process which would lead to a strategic plan for good (or better) use of our resources as we prepare for the coming months and years.

This most recent round of visioning and the resulting decisions which were presented more than a year ago now caused understandable anxiety to a number of individuals, but nowhere more so (it would seem) than with a group of individuals who took their cause to the highest courts in the Church.

The process has been a long and arduous ordeal, but finally today, the Bishop's Office issued a Press Release outlining the decision recently rendered by the Vatican Congregation for the Clergy, the competent authority who has now revewed the case and rendered its judgement.

In effect, the decision rendered finds in favor of the Diocese, saying that the Bishop did indeed follow all the necessary steps involved in making such a complex decision, and believes that the recourse mounted is unacceptable.  While the applicants in this case always have the option of appealing the decision to the Vatican's highest Court (the Roman Rota), it remains to be seen whether this will indeed come to pass.