Streetvoice |
Mass Departureby Ken Ilgunas |
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Like an exodus out of Egypt, Catholics are leaving Buffalo churches in droves. According to the Buffalo Diocese, over the past decade mass attendance has dropped 15 percent while baptisms and marriages have declined by more than 33 percent. The waning numbers have caused the Diocese to consider the consolidation and closing of 60 to 100 churches in the next two to three years. The trend of empty pews and half-filled churches is not just a local phenomenon, but a national one. The Vatican’s rigid stance concerning who may enter the priesthood threatens to alienate potential churchgoers. A recent document issued from the Vatican prohibits priests “who are actively homosexual, have deep-seated homosexual tendencies, or support the so-called ‘gay culture.’” The Church’s unbending position on several hot-button issues has caused many people to believe that organized religion is becoming archaic and outdated. Should the Vatican make an attempt to modernize? What will happen to all the empty churches in Buffalo?
Name: Alan Bostick
Occupation: Computer Tech
Residence: Buffalo
Religion: Christian
Should the Vatican be more tolerant concerning the priesthood? The word of God plainly states that he has a stance to take. And I believe he’s taking that stance.
What do you think about the Catholic Diocese’s decision to downsize in Buffalo? Well, I think the main responsibility of any church community is to see to the mental, physical, and spiritual needs of the community. If they can’t meet that, then they have to start looking at what they need to do.
What do you think should be done with the abandoned churches? Housing is a primary concern right now especially with the amount of homeless here in Buffalo. I think that should be looked at. The churches could be made into apartment complexes. That would alleviate some of the homelessness here.
Name: Chris Heimerl
Residence: Alden
Religion: Roman Catholic
Should the Vatican be more tolerant concerning the priesthood? Yes. I think they should allow priests to marry and I think they should allow women to be priests as well.
What do you think about the Catholic Diocese’s decision to downsize in Buffalo? I think it’s very sad that we have to downsize in Buffalo, but I honestly don’t see a solution because so many people have moved out of the city. I don’t see how they can support all these parishes with the declining populations.
What do you think should be done with the abandoned churches? They could salvage as much from the churches as they could, like the stained glass windows and some of the wonderful artistic work that was done on those churches a hundred years ago. Maybe they could put it somewhere so that people can come and see it instead of just putting it in a pile. That way we could at least go and see parts of those churches.
Name: Ashley Warhol
Occupation: Student
Residence: Buffalo
Religion: Presbyterian
Should the Vatican be more tolerant concerning the priesthood? I think so. I don’t think gays or women should be disavowed from the priesthood by any means.
What do you think about the Catholic Diocese’s decision to downsize in Buffalo? I think it’s a necessary step. There are a lot of churches around and, considering our current economic situation, I think it’s a good idea.
What do you think should be done with the abandoned churches? I think converting them into homeless shelters or places the homeless can go—like food pantry places. I don’t think that they should be knocked down or let to deteriorate. We have plenty of homeless people in the city of Buffalo. Homeless shelters would be good.
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