Catholic Chronicle

Diocesan announcements

Angela Kessler — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

Bishop Leonard P. Blair has made the following announcements, effective July 1, 2010:

Galion St. Joseph is twinned with Bucyrus Holy Trinity, with Father Ronald J. LeJeune as pastor.

Deshler Immaculate Conception is twinned with North Baltimore Holy Family, with Father
Jeffery J. Nordhaus as pastor.

Custar St. Louis is twinned with Providence St. Patrick, with Father David D. Tscherne as
pastor.

Landeck St. John the Baptist is twinned with Delphos St. John the Evangelist, with
Father Melvin T. Verhoff as pastor.

Spencerville St. Patrick is twinned with Lima St. Charles Borromeo, with Father
Stephen J. Blum as pastor.

Clyde St. Mary is to be served by a pastoral leader with Father Raymond A. Fisher as
parish chaplain, in addition to his duties as chaplain of the St. Bernardine Home, Fremont,
and Elmwood Healthcare Center at the Springs, Green Springs.

Parish futures revisited

Angela Kessler — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

Recently, I shared with the priests of our diocese some information that I would now like to share with all of you.

As we celebrate the centenary year of the Diocese of Toledo, it is timely for us to take a look not only at our past, but also at the present and the future.

You will remember that when I became Bishop of Toledo I acted on a plan that had been in preparation for several years under Bishop James R. Hoffman. That plan, the Faith and Futures Consultation, led to significant changes in 2005 in the number of parishes and the assignment of pastoral care. Faith and Futures also established some parameters and principles for anticipated changes in the future.

What are some of these parameters and principles?

Significant among them was the fact that, over time, there would be fewer priests entering retirement. This is due to the simple fact that the large ordination classes of the 1950s and 1960s would already be deceased, retired or retiring. In the near term there will be a number of retirements, but this will be followed by far fewer.

Faith and Futures also envisioned that while the numbers might not be as strong as in the past, there would still be a steady stream of new priests. I am happy to report that although ordination numbers are uneven (five last year and only one this year), we are blessed with more than 20 seminarians, and I am confident about our future prospects. Remember the timeless saying of Jesus: “The harvest is great, but the laborers are few. Pray the harvest master to send out laborers into his harvest!”

Faith and Futures did not operate out of a model of further parish closings, but rather of additional parish “twinning” over time, based on the goal of no pastor having more than two parishes. (That is not to absolutely exclude the possibility of an individual parish being closed or merged given its particular circumstances.)

The appointment of pastoral leaders is also a possibility, that is, a resident leader who is not a priest, with a priest chaplain for priestly ministry, including the sacraments. I should also mention that “twinning” was originally meant to bring about the merging of the two parish councils, finance councils and other entities into one, but experience has shown that this is not always the case.

There are always unforeseen variables when it comes to the number of priests who will be needed to fill pastorate openings, especially because of health issues, in a given year. Right now, it appears that as of July 1, 2010, we will have nine priests leaving and potentially three priests entering the assignment pool.

Lest the Priests’ Personnel Board be caught short with regard to the assignment of priests in 2010, some months ago I asked Precious Blood Sister Joyce Lehman, secretariat leader for pastoral leadership, to revisit the earlier Faith and Futures scenarios for twinning. These were the result of the local consultations that led up to the changes in 2005. We will also have to take into account changing conditions and new considerations that have developed since then.

Once I had the benefit of this information, I recently called a meeting of the pastors of the 11 parishes that will be involved in some change, effective July 1. I should mention that almost all of these parishes have already experienced twinning in some way, either presently or at some time in their history. Nevertheless, no one likes change, and I am grateful for the understanding and cooperation of both the clergy and faithful for the sake of the common good.

Bishop makes three announcements

Angela Kessler — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

Bishop Leonard P. Blair has made the following announcements:

Father Robert L. Haas, appointed parochial administrator of Galion St. Joseph, from senior status, effective Feb. 1.

Toledo St. John the Baptist and Toledo St. Michael the Archangel, transferred to the St. Agnes Deanery, from the Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha Deanery, effective Dec. 8, 2009.

Ms. Pat Ulmer, appointed acting director of Catholic Charities, in addition to her duties as director of Catholic Charities Parish Community Services, effective Feb. 1.

Because of our proximity to the Diocese of Cleveland the following notice may be applicable to Diocese of Toledo parishes: “At the direction of the Holy See, Bishop Richard Lennon, Diocese of Cleveland, has declared by decree that the alleged apparitions and locutions to Maureen Sweeney Kyle are not supernatural in origin and that the organizations of Holy Love Ministries and the Confraternity of the United Hearts of Jesus and Mary are not to represent themselves as Catholic groups. Those faithful who might inquire about these organizations should be discouraged from participating in and supporting their activities.”

Video describes challenges facing Catholic Schools

Laurie Stevens Bertke — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:30:23 +0000

TOLEDO—A video of Bishop Leonard P. Blair describing the many challenges facing Catholic schools in the Diocese of Toledo is to be shown at Masses at the beginning and end of Catholic Schools Week, Jan. 30-Feb. 7.

To watch the complete video, click on "Multimedia" in the navigation bar to the left and then select "Videos." Or listen to the unedited audio from the video by clicking here.

In about 10 minutes, the bishop describes the state of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Toledo, citing their many accomplishments and documenting the challenges.

With 67 elementary schools and 14 high schools, the diocese serves more than 21,000 students and ranks 24th in the nation in the number of Catholic students, he says. In addition, 99 percent of those students graduate from high school and 95 percent pursue higher education.

He praises the nine schools in the diocese that have been designated national schools of excellence by the United States Department of Education Blue Ribbon program.

In the video he also discusses the quality of education students in diocesan Catholic schools receive, pointing to consistently high test scores. Specifically, he says, diocesan Catholic high school students have passing rates on Ohio Graduation Test that are “almost 13 percent higher than the state average for public high school students.”

The success of diocesan Catholic schools students is also evident in their religion instruction.

“When it comes to our students’ instruction in the Catholic faith, national assessment testing places our student 3.5 percent higher than the national average,” he says.

But with the many accomplishments, Catholic schools today are also facing many more challenges, Bishop Blair says.

“That is why I feel it is important for me to share with you, the Catholic people, some of the disturbing trends that adversely affect our Catholic schools and even threaten their future,” he says.

Compared to 10 years ago, the Diocese of Toledo has experienced a 26 percent decline in the number of students attending its schools and there are 20 percent fewer schools, he says.

“This trend, if it continues, threatens the very existence of many of our schools,” the bishop says.

He acknowledges the changing economy and demographics of northwest Ohio play a part in the decline. In addition, he says, fewer Catholics practicing their faith is another reason enrollment is down.

“This is another reason why evangelization efforts and outreach to non-practicing Catholics are so important,” he says.

Bishop Blair talks about the sacrifices made by many for Catholic schools. Not only do parents pay tuition, but both sisters and lay teachers are paid significantly less than their public school counterparts. Parishes must also subsidize schools’ operating costs as tuition covers less than 40 percent of the actual cost to educate a child, he says.

Ten years ago, the “One Faith Many Blessings” capital campaign allowed for tuition assistance. Since 2006, $430,000 has helped 700 students with scholarships based on financial need. This year 205 scholarships were awarded, but more than 1,000 applications were submitted.

“The diocese continues to offer direction, guidance and help,” Bishop Blair says. “But as always, the ‘make it or break it’ of a Catholic school is the local Catholic community, not just as separate parishes but working together in support of Catholic education. I hope that my words to you today will bring about greater awareness, renewed commitment and more
cooperative effort, so that even as things change in the face of new challenges, we will be able to hand on to the future the precious legacy of Catholic schools we have received from the past.”

Bishop Blair responds to passage of House health care reform bill

Laurie Stevens Bertke — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0000

I am deeply gratified at the many people who have stood up against the murder of the unborn by urging their representatives in Washington to vote for the pro-life amendment to the Health Care Reform bill passed on November 7 by the House.

I also want to commend those members of Congress who supported and voted for the amendment with an upright conscience, especially those from the 19 counties of our diocese, including Marcy Kaptur who was a co-sponsor of the amendment.

The good news is that, with the adoption of the Stupak-Ellworth-Pitts-Kaptur-Dahlkemper-Lipinski-Smith Amendment, the bill passed by the House preserves the status quo of current federal law regarding abortion funding and conscience protections.

The bad news is that the status quo still reflects a situation in which millions of abortions continue to be carried out in our country even without federal funding. This is a situation with which we can never be content.

The legislative process and debate on Health Care Reform are far from over. I ask that everyone continue to work and pray that abortion be excluded, and that conscience be fully protected, in any health care reform that might eventually become law after votes in both the House and the Senate.