(January 18, 2007) – Most Reverend Joseph A. Galante, Bishop of Camden, today announced a major, comprehensive planning initiative to revitalize and strengthen parish life and Catholic school education in the Diocese of Camden.
He detailed the wide-ranging planning process at a late morning briefing for reporters at the Diocesan Center offices in Camden. (See Bishops Remarks here) The bishop said the planning initiative—which has two distinct tracks, one for schools and the other for parishes—would involve all of the parishes and elementary schools of the diocese. He said it would be a grassroots, collaborative effort led by the laity of the diocese through parish and school planning teams.
Citing a declining number of priests available for ministry, shifting demographics, declining elementary school enrollment, school deficits, and an over-reliance by schools on parish subsidies, he said it is time for decisive action: “While I do not know the outcome of the planning processes, because these have just gotten underway, I do know that, given these challenges facing the Church, the status quo will not be an option if we are to serve the needs of the Catholic people now and into the future, especially those identified as pastoral priorities through the parish Speak Up sessions.”
Saying that the planning process would be based on the realities facing the Church, he acknowledged that the planning process would result in fewer parishes and fewer schools. “It will mean the consolidation and merging of parishes and schools. It will mean the pooling and sharing of the financial, material and human resources. It will mean a changed Church of South Jersey, but a stronger one, a revitalized one, and a more dynamic community of faith.”
There currently are 124 parishes serving 500,000 Catholics in the six southern counties and 52 elementary schools serving nearly 12,000 students. Bishop Galante did not identify which parishes and schools might be subject to consolidation, saying that no decisions have been made since parish and school planning teams have yet to formulate their recommendations for the reconfiguration of parishes and schools.
Rather than planning in isolation, parish and school planning teams are planning in groups, sharing demographic and financial data and facilities information with other parishes and schools in their areas with the goal of strengthening parish life and Catholic school education in the entire area (parishes have been grouped into regions and deaneries, schools into clusters). Four or five representatives from each school (including the principal and pastoral representative) have been asked to join together to form steering committees to develop a strategy for Catholic school education in the cluster.
Likewise, parishes last fall were charged with forming planning teams and with beginning a process of pre-planning by gathering financial and demographic data. Four groups of Catholic schools (17 schools in clusters 7, 9, 10 and 12) are on an accelerated schedule for planning, having begun the process in September 2006, with final recommendations expected to be forwarded to Bishop Galante and his advisors by the end of January. These accelerated clusters each have schools that are experiencing grave financial difficulties and enrollments well below the 225 normally considered essential to sustain a single-graded school.
The final recommendations from these clusters, once submitted and approved, will be implemented before the start of the 2007-08 school year. The remaining eight groups of Catholic schools will submit their recommendations by June 2007 and, if approved by the Bishop, will be implemented by September 2008. Meanwhile, parish planning teams will begin meeting this month, sending representatives in the spring to regional and deanery-level planning meetings, and formulating planning recommendations for submission to the diocese by May 15. There will be another round of consultation with deanery planning teams in the fall, with implementation of the recommendations to begin in 2008. Emphasizing that the new planning initiative would be about more than reconfiguration, Bishop Galante also briefed reporters on plans to introduce a new funding model for Catholic elementary schools.
The new model will be introduced over a three-year period beginning in 2009-2010, replacing parish subsidies to schools with cost-based tuition and needs-based tuition assistance, with the tuition assistance fund supported by parishes. With uniform tuition rates, the schools will adopt a policy of open enrollment, facilities and curriculum will be enhanced, and faculty compensation improved. The new model will also provide for increased levels of marketing and institutional advancement and an increased role of the laity in decision-making for the schools.
The Bishop acknowledged the challenges ahead. “While it undoubtedly will be difficult for all of us to accept any kind of change, and the excitement we feel is understandably mingled with apprehension…I am confident that with God’s grace and the dedication and good work of men and women who care deeply about the future of our Church, this process of collaboration with the People will be fruitful and will revitalize our Church to be the dynamic communities of faith, hope and love that we strive to be.”