A radical overhaul in the nation’s third-largest Roman Catholic archdiocese could shutter many of the Chicago church’s houses of worship by 2030 as it reckons with decaying buildings and an expected shortage of priests, was further outlined in a letter from Cardinal Cupich which was read from the pulpit at all masses in the Archdiocese on Sunday, January 22, 2017, including at St. Beatrice and St. Maria Gorietti in Schiller Park. Link to Cardinal Cupich letter :
https://www.archchicago.org/documents/70111/70558/1.21.17_RMC+letter+to+parishioners_English.pdf/19094599-c006-4e1f-b8fe-0f3971bc7f4c
Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich has told priests and advisers in meetings over the last year that the shortage — an estimated 240 priests available in 2030 for the archdiocese’s 351 parishes — could necessitate closings and consolidations. The archdiocese governs parishes in Cook and Lake counties.
Based primarily on those projections and on future capital needs, the priests who attended the meetings say a large number of churches could close over the next 14 years. Several of those priests who attended the sessions with the archbishop have shared details about the reorganization process, some requesting anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the discussion and because they didn’t have permission to speak on behalf of the archdiocese.
The reorganization process is kicking into high gear this Spring when auxiliary bishops begin meeting with parish leaders and staff in their regions to discuss solutions.
Such a massive parish reorganization would be larger than — and play out much differently from — Cardinal Joseph Bernardin’s decision in 1990 to close and merge more than 40 parishes, which along with school closings and a 10 percent cutback in administrative costs was aimed at saving $13 million annually.
No cost-saving target has been announced for this plan, but Chief Operating Officer Betsy Bohlen says the initiative is less about economics and more about fortifying the church’s mission.
The financial impact of this effort will be avoiding having to spend capital repair dollars that are unaffordable, it should be noted that the archdiocese has just launched a review to gauge those deferred costs. But that’s not the most significant reason (for the reorganization) at all.
In a message to parishioners that appeared in the past in Catholic New World, the archdiocesan newspaper, and that Cupich has shared with priests and advisers in the last year, the archbishop casts the parish reorganization as an opportunity for renewal.
“Demographics have shifted dramatically,” he wrote. “Some of our parish buildings are in disrepair. We have fewer priests to pastor our faith communities. The result is that we end up spreading our resources too thinly.
“I would be less than honest if I did not acknowledge that by the time this consultative process is complete, we will mourn together the loss of some parishes,” he added. “But that will not be the final word. By having the boldness to leave behind familiar ways of doing things, we can seize this season as one that is not simply of loss, but rather of renewal.”
“I would be less than honest if I did not acknowledge that by the time this consultative process is complete, we will mourn together the loss of some parishes,” he added. “But that will not be the final word. By having the boldness to leave behind familiar ways of doing things, we can seize this season as one that is not simply of loss, but rather of renewal.”
Priests who spoke to the Tribune said, based on the expected priest shortfall and future infrastructure needs, as many as 100 churches could close over the next 14 years.
Bohlen said that could be the case if leaders in the archdiocese decide to assign one pastor per parish. But it’s unlikely that such a generic formula would be applied universally, she said.
“Parishes are very vital homes for people,” she said. “It’s closely connected to their faith life, and we take that very seriously. If they are a strong presence in the community, we’re biased to keep the strong presences out there. I don’t know how it’s going to play out.”
Cupich did not speculate in the column how many parishes might close. But it’s the numbers behind Cupich’s reference to the shortage of priests that is guiding preliminary projections for how many parishes could close or merge, sources said.
By 2030, there will be an estimated 240 priests available to fill Chicago’s pulpits according to published projections.
Those priests could be assigned individually to parishes, or to multiple churches in any variety of configurations, which ultimately will affect how many parishes eventually shutter. The estimate of 240 priests available for parishes by 2030 is not a firm figure, because not all ordained priests serve as pastors. Some work as canon lawyers, professors or administrators. And some simply aren’t ready to serve as pastors right after ordination, some publications note
At the present rate, about 180 priests are expected to retire by 2030, replaced by roughly 10 ordinations a year, according to archdiocesan information.
Since religious orders, which sometimes help fill pulpits, are facing the same shortages, the archdiocese may not be able to rely on them to fill the gap.
No one wants to be the pastor of two or three parishes if they can help it, they would be ineffective.
In the Schiller Park area, representatives from five parishes — St.Beatrice, St. Maria Gorietti, Our Lady Mother of the Church, Divine Savior (Norridge), and St. Gertrude (Franklin Park) — will meet beginning in March, 2017 to discuss options and deliver recommendations to Cupich.
This working group is intended to solve the question of what to do with consolidation. Conversations in these meetings are centered on the question, “How can we form parishes that are going to respond to future needs with future resources that we’re going to have?”
Parish leaders also are to discuss the ministries that set their communities apart, which should lead to more discussions about making sure those ministries continued even if parishes closed. This kind of collaboration is exactly how clergy and church officials hope the process will unfold in the working group.
While about a quarter of the 351 parishes in the archdiocese now receive financial aid, the archdiocese will weigh three additional factors when assessing the sustainability of parishes: capital needs, pastor availability and mission vitality.
Mission vitality will be based on people in the pews and less tangible, more pastoral metrics such as whether the community supports each other in prayer and worship, engages the millennial generation and brings newcomers to the church, fulfilling the church’s and Pope Francis’ call to evangelize. Efforts also will be made to avoid creating church deserts — neighborhoods with no accessible Catholic parish. Shifting the decisions to auxiliary bishops who oversee each region will help ensure that, reflecting Cupich and the pope’s mutual inclination to decentralize power.
Cupich also has emphasized to advisers, including the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council, that the process will take an egalitarian approach and no parish will be left out. Affluent parishes bursting at the seams will feel the pinch too, he has said.
Priests are saying the process will be nothing like the closings in 1990, when priests found out suddenly that their doors would be shut by the end of the year. One priest suffered a heart attack after delivering the news to his congregation on Sunday morning.
Back then, archbishops of other major cities frowned on Bernardin’s decision, saying closing parishes just wasn’t done. This time, priests say, Chicago is late in acting. Priests and parishioners in Boston and New York have already suffered painful parish closings in the past decade.
Some are saying of the 5 parishes in this working group only 2 will survive. We are all facing a lot more questions than answers at this time.
With Norridge School District 80 interested in the Divine Savior property, the future of Divine Savior may be doomed, with the serving parish for Norridge, Chicago, and north Schiller Park going to Our Lady Mother of the Church, with the balance of the area including Schiller Par, and Franklin Park, going to one of the three remaining parishes in the working group.
Obviously, there is some template emanating from the Chicago Archdiocese with the way the 5 parish working group was designated; leading one to conclude that the Archdiocese has already made some as yet undisclosed decisions impacting all of us who are parishioners in one of the parishes.
My closing thoughts: I think this is a great opportunity for all people and for the archdiocese. We have to recognize there is going to be pain but try not to be afraid, try to trust. We are trained by American society to distrust things; we are trained to be afraid. Here is a place where you make a Christian choice — am I going to trust and hope or am I going to distrust and be afraid?
The second thing is this is opening up opportunities for everybody to have a hand in how this gets played out, even if you are not sitting at the tables that figure out what the new configurations of parishes will be. People will be able to step up and take important roles in helping to make decisions and carrying out actions and carrying out ministries.
You can focus on the loss or you can focus on the growth that will come.
Roy F. McCampbell's Blog 
So What Does An Enhanced ATF Presence in Chicago Mean for Schiller Park and the West Cook Suburbs ?
About 20 additional agents from the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives are headed to Chicago………David Coulson, a spokesman for the Chicago field office of the ATF, said “We are always seeking to enhance the enforcement efforts of ATF…..in conjunction with CPD.”
Couple this with the fact that the gang structure in Chicago is so fractured, no one know who runs one block to the next. For example, the Autobarn, a luxury car dealership in Evanston was broken into in Evanston and they made off with 4 BMW’s and a rare Porsch 9-11 turbo, but the gang members converting these cars to cash these cars were used for joyriding and shootings. One of the cars was used to “livestream” a rap video when police pursued it all over the west side.
Chicago, with some 100,000 documented gang members, has more gang members than any other city with the possible exception of LosAngeles (Researchers estimate that gangs account for at least half the homicides in those tow cities, a number so large that together they make up about 20 percent of all gang-related homicides nationwide.
Will this new effort of problem oriented policing by ATF simply relocate the crime to suburban areas already controlled by the gangs ?
What will be the repercussions on the suburban communities with the enforcement focus being seen in Chicago ?
Schiller Park has neighboring towns acknowledging for years the presence of gang members and territory control by these gangs.
Gangs identified in Elmwood Park include Milwaukee Kings, Maniac Latin Disciples, Four Corner Hustlers, Spanish Cobras, Gangster Disciples, Gaylords, Imperial Gangsters and the Latin Kings.
In Franklin Park, the gang, the Imperial Gangsters have been identified controlling the “The Jungle” an area bounded by Mannheim Road to Ruth and Crown to James Avenue.
Harwood Heights has been associated with the Latin Kings, Latin Pachucos, Insane Deuces, and Satan Disciples.
Gangs identified in unincorporated Leyden Township include Imperial Gangsters, Gangster Disciples , the Latin Kings and LaRaza, with “Lil Darkside” having territories around Armitage and Ruby, Dickens and Ruby and Palmer and Ruby.
The City of Northlake has seen gang activity involving the Latin Kings, Gangster Disciples, Vice Lords, Two-Two Boys with the Imperial Gangsters controlling an area of condos and apartments known as King Arthurs Court and the Maniac Latin Disciples controlling the area around Fullerton and Wolf known as the “Lost City”.
The gang known as Almighty Simon City Royals has been identified as being associated with Norridge.
In Park Ridge, the Latin Kings and Surenos 13, have had a presence; and River Grove has seen activity from the gangs of Insane Dragons and M.O.B.
But Schiller Park has refused to acknowledge to residents that inquire whether there is gang activity in Schiller Park. It creates an interesting question, “Is Schiller Park an island in a sea of gang activity or has a “blind eye” been turned to this activity ?
Some have noted that the Simon City Royals, La Raza control the area around 25th and Ruby Street, residing in the apartments that border Ruby Street in Schiller Park.
Gangs have evolved over decades from social to corporate, so now with the aggressive stance of he Chicago PD, the gang leadership is constantly querying, “where can I go and get out of the spotlight ?” This gang leadership is constantly looking for the “smaller town” with less resources to combat their activities.
The next year very likely will see an additional gang migration to the west Chicagoland suburbs and eastern DuPage County. Recently a senior CPD officer said “We can see them going but they are not going away, like disappearing, just moving.”
Schiller Park has failed to create an ongoing community collaboration of major stakeholders (which should include the residents) to implement strong neighborhood policing.
Someone needs to take a leadership role to formulate a regional gang strategy. This could become an epidemic in Schiller Park and the West Cook suburbs because their are no borders for gangs. Mayor Rahm Emanuel is trying to reduce his crime in Chicago, but does care if he achieves this by the relocation of the criminals. Big city police departments are experienced, the smaller ones aren’t. Things will change in Chicago, and what happens there, in the city with the greatest gang violence problem in America, could have repercussions throughout the region.
The answer to deal with this problem is as complex as the problem itself.
But we all need to start as residents of each of our towns questioning the strategies and planning of our communities to deal with this pervasive gang violence problem for which we may see the repercussions of the enforcement in Chicago.
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