Is your parish on the list of churches that may close? If so, why do you think it should or shouldn't be closed?
Read the story: 60 churches will close in Boston archdiocese
Special report: Parish closings

Page 14

This is a very sad day for Boston Catholics. I sense a lot of anger in many of the messages posted here, and I can understand why. After the nightmare of the abuse scandal, we now must endure the pain of these parish closings. When will it end? And yet, let us not forget why we are Catholics. The church has done a lot of good work for the poor, the sick, and the homeless. Much of this work goes unnoticed by the media, who only seem interested in the minority of priesta who are abusers.

Matt, Waltham

My Parish is closing and of course I feel like I am losing a part of my family. After all, the Parish is the only thing that has been as stable in my life as my own family. As sad as I am about the closures, I know it is life. Now it is the time for Catholics to support each other, and accept these changes as difficult transitions not “Closings.” The Church has survived for centuries and it will survive for centuries to come. This is not the time to be biter, instead think of the closings as a great opportunity to show the world that we are strong, supportive and loving people that are willing to sacrifice some things we love, for the greater good.

Annie, Boston

I have been going to St. James in Stoughton since I was less than one years old. For near to 10 years I have been in the religious education program there (I am 15) and I have one more year until I am to be confirmed. The group of kids who I have been going through the Religious Ed program since my start at St. James (and its not a small group by any means which boggles my mind even more) have become like a family to me and the whole church is just a part of my life that I haven't ever seen leaving. I have one more year to complete at St. James before I can move on to my other sacrements and now my memories from the past and my retreats and confirmation yet to come are going to be diminished. I cant complete my career as a student with these people anymore. I hope that the Archdiocise has realised how they are tearing apart a community and family symbol for unnecessary purposes. He isn't helping the Catholic Community by closing down our Parish which yearly has the largest canned good collection and Christmas Gift collection of the community. I dont even see the value of loosing our church. If its a personal thing with members or of the past, your taking it out on the future. So I really hope that someone does something to reverse this terrible terrible mistake.

Paul, Stoughton

I stopped going to church a long time ago. However, I do agree with some of these closings. The last time I was in St Susanna's or St Joseph's in Hyde Park, the churches were basically empty. (Granted this was several years ago.) During the hey day of the church in Boston, churches sprung up all over the place. At this point, most of the smaller towns can't support two parishes and it just makes good business sense to consolidate the parishes. One of the biggest things almost every one seems to be missing is that you don't need a building to worship in. A church is just a building, religion is something much deeper.

paul, dedham

The heartbreak feels real when thinking of all the thousands of families who's most significant histories have been witnessed by these graceful churches and the communities filling them, births, marriages, deaths. And the heart breaks open wider considering the horrific incidents which have contributed to the financial turmoil shutting down these homes away from home. Thru these buildings I feel connected to family I never met, those gone long before my own baptism, a living history of some of these parishes. Great great grandparents who met and wed in this church. Stood where I did when I took my vows. Feet shuffled over the same marble to receive communion, fingers brushing the same wooden pews, polished by generations of hands. Hands that built the church, will now close it.

Pamela, Boston

The sale of the Lake St. property has taken care of the abuse scandal monetary retribution (supposedly). Why all the church closings?

Dodo, Norwell

I beleive that due to the ongoing sex abuse scandal, once again it is the PARISHONERS that are affected instead of the leaders of the catholic church being brought to justice for their heinous coverup and and lack of compassion for the children and all who have been affected. I feel that money always comes first and people second. I will no longer seek spiritual guidance from a catholic church.

Tom, Boston

I can only imagine the sadness people whose parishes are closing feel. I still attend my childhood church in West Roxbury and am relieved it is not closing. I know you will be welcomed by your new parish - and it will be renewed and changed because of your presence there. I am disappointed Holy Trinity is closing - I attend the Latin (Tridentine) Mass there occasionally and it seemed to be thriving with a lot of young families who came some distance to get there. I am saddened by the bile evident in some of these posts. It must be hard to feel so much anger and bitterness, whatever the cause, and I hope those who experience these feelings find a way to get past it.

Anna, Jamaica Plain

Seeing notes from people mentioning the ethnicity of certain parishes brought to mind a story that I think exeplifies the backwards thinking of some of the representatives of the Catholic Church. My family moved when I was a baby to a street where there were two churches within one block of eachother. One predominantly French and the other mostly Portuguese. We lived closer to the French one. My Father who is mostly French and my Mom who is Portuguese stopped at the rectory to meet with the pastor of the French parish with the intent of joining the parish. The Pastor took one look at my Mom with her dark hair, brown eyes and light olive complection, turned to my Dad and said "I think you'd be better served at the church down the street." I always wondered why we never stepped foot in that church growing up and didn't know the reason why until my Mom just recently told me what was obviously a painful episode in her life. This is one of the reasons I cannot bring myself to support the Catholic church in any way.

Carol, Boston

The church closings may be necessary to strengthen the Catholic Church. What is lost, however, is the historic value of the community built around the Parish. Sacred Heart in Lexington is the Parish I am associated with. My grandparents and mother attended Mass and Sunday School in the first iteration of the Parish - the second floor of the old firehouse in E. Lexington in the early 1900's. They were among the contributors who built and furnished the current building. My grandparents were buried from Sacred Heart, my parents were married there, I took my First Communion and Confirmation in the Church. And I buried my mother from that same House. The closings are a reflection of the greater loss of community in our cities and towns. It is sad for those who still worship in these Churches and have much of their lives affiliated with the Church. It is even more sad for our society that we don't value community in its broader sense.

Iggy, lexington, ma