Dans ce JOURNAL je partage de temps en temps un aperçu de ma vie de chrétien catholique et de prêtre pour rejoindre d'autres qui désirent contribuer au bien commun et pour faire avancer l'ouverture personnelle à Dieu qui fait vivre toute l'humanité et veille sur nous. G.S.
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In this JOURNAL I will share once in a while a glimpse of my life as a Catholic Christian and priest to connect with other people who desire to contribute to the common good and to enable personal openness to God who gives life to all of humanity and watches over us. G.S.
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Known Facts – Trying to establish a Timeline
From 1817 to the present....
Click here for a fuller and more detailed history
From 1953 to 2024, the following 12 parishes and missions have been suppressed and their
registers have been transferred to a neighboring parish church office.
St. Agnes – 1904 to 1953 St. Ann – 1867 to 1982
Our Lady of Good Counsel (St. Mary's) – 1879 to 1984
St. Thomas Aquinas – 1908 to 1990
St.
Philip Neri Mission – 1965 to 2002 St. Rita – 1952 to 2002
All
Saints Mission – 1963 to 2003
Marie-Reine-de-la-Paix
– 1954 to 2009 when it became Jésus Lumière du Monde / Jesus
Light of the World
St.
David – 1963 to 2010 when it was joined to Jésus Lumière du Monde / Jesus Light
of the World
St.
Dominic – 1912 to 2012
St.
Raphael the Archangel – 1930 to 2019? When it was changed into a Palliative
Care project
St.
Anthony of Padua – 1884 which will close this June, 2024
Our
Archdiocese expanded as it established dozens of new parishes, on the fringes
of center town and in the developing suburbs on the Island of Montreal, the
Island of Laval, and the Assomption peninsula. This came to require additional
personnel for the diocesan Curia, the operating center of our diocese
supporting our Archbishop. The Diocese acquired an office building formerly
owned by the Shell company and it came to be known as the “2000”, which is its
address on Sherbrooke Street West, opposite the old Grand Seminary.
In
addition, growth in personnel was also caused by all that developed during and
after Vatican Council II in Rome from 1962 to 1965. However, as the Curia
personnel was expanding, despite the added number of parishes and churches, the
actual Sunday practice for worship began to diminish. The shocking experiences
of WW II, the ensuing prosperity of the 1950’s, the social upheaval of the
1960’s, the confusion, violence, and questioning of the 1970’s, the
disillusionments of the 1980’s, the sexual and authority abuse beginning in the
1990’s and running into the 2000’s, and finally the Covid-19 pandemic… people
were taking a step back from their Sunday worship, support, faith practice, and
perhaps even from their belief in God.
The
plummeting Sunday attendance resulted in the inevitable plummeting of donations
and receipts for all the parishes, which translated into diminishing receipts
for the Diocese; since its primary source of revenue has been the contribution
made by the parishes, usually on a monthly basis. This “diocesan tax”
originally set at 3% in the early 19th century, was increased to 5%
as attendance began to drop and the Diocese’s costs were simultaneously
increasing. Since my ordination in 1983, the rate went from 3% to 5%, then to
7%, and finally some 30 years ago, to 9%. Unfortunately, 9% of zero equals
zero. The well is all but dry.
The
Diocese has not been able to adapt and downsize fast enough, and has been
running deficits for many years. By the grace of God and the generosity of the
faithful, bequests let the Diocese balance its deficits by year’s end. At the
end of 2023, though, a few dozen workers were let go, and there may have to be
more.
Churches
built to set 1,000 barely see a few hundred or less on any given Sunday. Many
parishes, especially older ones, have not had the funds to do maintenance, let
alone major repairs; with the result that churches and rectories have become
unsafe and have been closed by the city. Many parishes cannot even remunerate
their priest and are unable to have any staff; they rely on volunteers to keep
the office open for service a few hours a week.
The
Diocese no longer has any funds to support bankrupt parishes. “What will be the
future of the Catholic Christian faith in our neighbourhood?” Our ancestors
rolled up their sleeves and worked together to build our churches and spread
the faith. “What are we doing to proclaim the Good News by our lives?” Society
is in a housing crisis. Not only itinerants, but even ordinary families are being pushed out of their homes by owners who want to renovate. “How can we work with government to build housing on
our unused church properties?”
The
time is now for us to no longer be content to live as a “religious consumer”
expecting services from our Church and, instead, heed Jesus’ call to become
missionary disciples, to “go out and make disciples.”
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In this JOURNAL I will share once in a while a glimpse of my life as a Catholic Christian and priest to connect with other people who desire to contribute to the common good and to enable personal openness to God who gives life to all of humanity and watches over us. G.S.
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Dans ce JOURNAL je partage de temps en temps un aperçu de ma vie de chrétien catholique et de prêtre pour rejoindre d'autres qui désirent contribuer au bien commun et pour faire avancer l'ouverture personnelle à Dieu qui fait vivre toute l'humanité et veille sur nous. G.S.
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© 2004-2024 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal QC
© 2004-2024 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC
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