NEW YORK
Vatican Will Review Church Closure Cases
A Vatican office has decided to further study several parishes that appealed recent orders, made by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, to either merge or close.
The Vatican’s Congregation for the Clergy notified at least seven parishes this week that a decision on an appeal won’t be reached until Sept. 1, weeks beforePope Francis is scheduled to visit New York. The notifications allow parishes affected by the reorganization to continue their appeals at the Vatican.
The archdiocese has said that churches included in the broad reorganization of the diocese are to be officially closed or merged by Aug. 1. The reorganization is intended to reduce the costs of keeping unneeded parishes open.
An archdiocese spokesman said he is confident that the reorganization has been handled properly and that the Vatican office will support the archdiocese’s decisions.
—Melanie Grayce West
NEW YORK
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