"Attendance at masses across the diocese's region has fallen since the early 2010s, meaning less participation in the sacraments and lower Catholic school enrollment. We are also at an all-time low of priests assigned to our 80 parishes, and the average age of our priests continues to climb."
"The Diocese has faced hundreds of lawsuits in recent years, filed by the survivors of clergy sexual abuse. In 2023, Bishop Barber announced a bankruptcy plan that involved paying $165 million to survivors while looking at potentially closing churches with declining attendance."
"The plan also included a survivors' fund worth up to $198 million. A survivor's group called the plan a 'sham of an offer.' Regardless of the outcome of the bankruptcy plan, we must face the realities described above and proceed with these closures."
The Oakland Diocese will close 13 churches, including 7 in Oakland, due to declining participation and financial crises stemming from sexual abuse lawsuits. Attendance at masses has decreased since the early 2010s, leading to lower sacramental participation and Catholic school enrollment. The diocese faces hundreds of lawsuits from clergy abuse survivors and has proposed a bankruptcy plan to pay $165 million to them. A 'Mission Alignment Process' identified struggling parishes, and closures are necessary regardless of bankruptcy approval.
Read at The Oaklandside
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