Diocese presents plan for mega-parishes

The German diocese of Trier, Germany’s oldest, has presented a draft plan to further reduce its present 887 parishes to 35 mega-parishes, some of which may have  70,000 parishioners, by 2020, writes Christa Pongratz-Lippitt.

The radical plan, “Parishes of the Future in the Diocese of Trier”, follows a decision reached by a body of priests and lay Catholics after the Trier diocesan synod in May 2016.

The plan will now be widely discussed diocese-wide from mid-May to the end of June. Bishop Stephan Ackermann will hold eight rallies to campaign for acceptance of the plan.

At the end of September, the feedback from parishes, church organisations and individual Catholics will be processed by a commission which will then present a revised pastoral reform plan to the diocesan authorities.

According to canon law, the final decision is reserved for the bishop. As the number of priests and committed Catholics is sinking all over Germany, Trier is not alone. Numerous German dioceses are testing pilot projects on parish reform that will reduce the present administrative burden on priests, “network” parishes, try out new forms of pastoral care and give the laity more responsibility.

Not all bishops are in favour of clustering, however.

Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich, for instance, thinks local churches are “extraordinarily” important and must stay “visible locally”. His pilot project for the archdiocese of Munich foresees the possibility of teams of lay leaders taking over the running of parishes, but also continuing discussions on the requirements for admission to the priesthood including the possibility of ordaining married men.  (See The Tablet, 25 March.)

n Pope Francis was not turning his back on church tradition but wanted to deepen what Jesus and the prophets taught, Bishops’ Conference president, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, told the Bavarian bishops at their spring plenary.

It was not a bad thing to argue over theological issues as in the ongoing debate on [Francis’ apostolic exhortation] Amoris Laetitia, he said. Such debates were a part of church life.