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Idaho Catholics Reorganizing Priest Shortage Forces Parishes To Merge In Idaho Diocese, Bishop Announces

By Kelly McBride kellym@spokesman.com

Every Catholic, every parish, every priest will be affected by a dramatic reorganization of the church in Idaho.

The new structure, a result of the shortage of priests, eventually will change the image of the Catholic Church. By 2005, there no longer will be a priest and a small parish in every town.

Rather, there will be large regional centers in places such as Sandpoint, the Silver Valley, Latah County and Post Falls, where priests and paid staff will serve several parishes. In other places, such as in Coeur d’Alene, churches will form a partnership, sharing one priest and a staff.

The changes were announced in a letter from Bishop Tod D. Brown which was read at every Mass in the state over the weekend.

The reorganization is the result of a two-year project in the diocese, which covers the entire state, to address the shortage of priests, which is expected to worsen.

While the shortage of priests is a nationwide problem, Idaho’s plan may be paving the way for other dioceses to reorganize.

There will be 68 active priests in Idaho after the upcoming ordinations next month. But by the year 2015, there will be fewer than 50 ordained priests. In contrast, there are about 120,000 Catholics in the state, and that number is expected to grow by 3 percent every year.

Roughly half of them attend Mass on any given weekend.

Brown knew that some parishes would have to close and others would have to adjust the way they do business. But rather than make the changes in an autocratic manner, he commissioned focus groups in every parish in the state, said Doris Murphy, coordinator of the study, called the Vitality Project.

Each parish committee sent representatives to regional committees, which in turn presented their findings to statewide panels.

Jeanni Kaminski, of Rathdrum, was involved every step of the way. A member of St. Stanislaus parish since 1979, she said she will mourn the loss of her small community parish.

“This has been our family because we have no relatives in this area,” she said.

But Kaminski said the changes were inevitable. She said she was pleased the church invited everyone to participate in finding solutions to the problems.

Getting to Mass will be more of a challange, she said. While Post Falls is only 10 miles away, Kaminski said the road is impassible during winter snowstorms.

Murphy said every parish without a resident priest will train a lay person to distribute communion in the event of an emergency.

Murphy said some dioceses have reorganized as crises emerge - closing parishes and merging churches when it becomes impossible to find new priests. That unfairly places the burden on smaller and rural or inner-city churches.

Idaho’s plan calls for even large thriving churches to share the burden. For example the Cathedral in Boise will share a priest with a neighboring church, as will the two congregations in Coeur d’Alene.

The new structure will encourage more lay people to assume roles in worship and administration, Murphy said. That is a task the church has been struggling with since the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

“This is not a bad thing. This is not about closing churches or less priests or financial concerns,” Murphy said. “This is about the life of the church.”

The responsibility falls into the lap of every Catholic in Idaho, she said.

“We have a lot of work to do to make the people realize that they are the church,” she said. “The church is not a building, it’s the people.”

Because the project began at the parish level, most of the congregations knew to expect sweeping changes, Murphy said.

“Every parish wanted things to stay exactly the same,” she said. “Some people were pleasantly surprised. They thought their parishes would close, when in fact it wasn’t that bad.” , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

MEMO: Cut in Spokane edition This sidebar appeared with the story: CHURCHES AFFECTED Churches that no longer will have a resident priest: St. Ann’s, Bonners Ferry - When current priest retires, the bishop will try to hire a bilingual priest to serve the growing Hispanic population. If that isn’t possible, will hire a layperson and the Sandpoint priest will drive up for Mass. Sacred Heart, Clark Fork - Will become a local chapel with no regularly scheduled services. Parishioners will drive to Sandpoint for services. St. Catherine’s, Priest River - Will hire a staff, but no priest. The Sandpoint priest will drive over for regularly scheduled services. St. Blanche, Priest Lake - Will hire a staff, but no priest. Sandpoint priest will drive over for regularly scheduled services. St. Joseph’s, Spirit Lake - After the current priest retires, this church will join a cluster served by a regional center on the Rathdrum Prairie. The building may become a chapel with no regular services, or it may have scheduled Masses celebrated by a priest from the regional center. St. Stanislaus, Rathdrum - Will also become a part of the regional church on the Rathdrum Prairie. It is not known if regular Mass will be offered in Rathdrum. The buildings will be maintained as an education or retreat center. St. Michael’s, Mullan - Becomes a secondary church attached to St. Alphonsus in Wallace. A regular Mass schedule is questionable. St. Mary’s, Potlatch - Will merge with St. Augustine’s in Moscow. No regular services will be offered in Potlatch. St. Mary’s, Genesee - Will merge with St. Mary’s in Moscow. No regular services will be offered in Genesee. Regional churches: St. George, Post Falls - Will expand to accommodate more worshipers. A hired staff, including one or more priests, will provide services and scheduled Masses in Spirit Lake and Rathdrum. The building eventually may be relocated to a more central area on the Prairie. St. Joseph, Sandpoint - Will expand its building to serve as a regional church. Priests stationed here will drive to Priest River, Priest Lake and possibly Bonners Ferry to celebrate Mass. St. Mary’s, St. Maries - Will remain much the same, continuing to absorb the congregation from Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Harrison. Latah County cluster - One regional staff will serve St. Mary’s and St. Augustine’s in Moscow, as well as St. Mary’s in Potlatch and St. Mary’s in Genesee. Regular Mass will not be offered in Genesee or Potlatch. Silver Valley cluster - St. Alphonsus, Wallace (which will absorb the congregation in Mullan) and St. Rita’s, Kellogg, will continue to share a priest and a staff. Lewiston - All parishes in Lewiston will begin to explore the possibility of building one large regional church. Twin churches: St. Pius X and St. Thomas in Coeur d’Alene eventually will share one priest and one staff. Native American churches, including Sacred Heart in DeSmet, Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Plummer and St. Michael’s in Worley will continue to be served by Jesuit priests from the Oregon Province.

Cut in Spokane edition This sidebar appeared with the story: CHURCHES AFFECTED Churches that no longer will have a resident priest: St. Ann’s, Bonners Ferry - When current priest retires, the bishop will try to hire a bilingual priest to serve the growing Hispanic population. If that isn’t possible, will hire a layperson and the Sandpoint priest will drive up for Mass. Sacred Heart, Clark Fork - Will become a local chapel with no regularly scheduled services. Parishioners will drive to Sandpoint for services. St. Catherine’s, Priest River - Will hire a staff, but no priest. The Sandpoint priest will drive over for regularly scheduled services. St. Blanche, Priest Lake - Will hire a staff, but no priest. Sandpoint priest will drive over for regularly scheduled services. St. Joseph’s, Spirit Lake - After the current priest retires, this church will join a cluster served by a regional center on the Rathdrum Prairie. The building may become a chapel with no regular services, or it may have scheduled Masses celebrated by a priest from the regional center. St. Stanislaus, Rathdrum - Will also become a part of the regional church on the Rathdrum Prairie. It is not known if regular Mass will be offered in Rathdrum. The buildings will be maintained as an education or retreat center. St. Michael’s, Mullan - Becomes a secondary church attached to St. Alphonsus in Wallace. A regular Mass schedule is questionable. St. Mary’s, Potlatch - Will merge with St. Augustine’s in Moscow. No regular services will be offered in Potlatch. St. Mary’s, Genesee - Will merge with St. Mary’s in Moscow. No regular services will be offered in Genesee. Regional churches: St. George, Post Falls - Will expand to accommodate more worshipers. A hired staff, including one or more priests, will provide services and scheduled Masses in Spirit Lake and Rathdrum. The building eventually may be relocated to a more central area on the Prairie. St. Joseph, Sandpoint - Will expand its building to serve as a regional church. Priests stationed here will drive to Priest River, Priest Lake and possibly Bonners Ferry to celebrate Mass. St. Mary’s, St. Maries - Will remain much the same, continuing to absorb the congregation from Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Harrison. Latah County cluster - One regional staff will serve St. Mary’s and St. Augustine’s in Moscow, as well as St. Mary’s in Potlatch and St. Mary’s in Genesee. Regular Mass will not be offered in Genesee or Potlatch. Silver Valley cluster - St. Alphonsus, Wallace (which will absorb the congregation in Mullan) and St. Rita’s, Kellogg, will continue to share a priest and a staff. Lewiston - All parishes in Lewiston will begin to explore the possibility of building one large regional church. Twin churches: St. Pius X and St. Thomas in Coeur d’Alene eventually will share one priest and one staff. Native American churches, including Sacred Heart in DeSmet, Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Plummer and St. Michael’s in Worley will continue to be served by Jesuit priests from the Oregon Province.