Moncton churches may face closure, archbishop says

Some Catholic churches in the Moncton area could be forced to close due to financial challenges, says the archbishop.

Valéry Vienneau told parishioners over the weekend the future of all 54 churches in the Archdiocese will be reviewed in light of diminishing attendance and a shortage of priests.

"We can't let a parish go into a deficit for a number of three or four years," he said.

​"We would ask them to look at their finances and present us with a plan and see if they can correct it. Because if a parish goes into deficit and has to close, the diocese has to pick up the tab, and we don't have the means right now to do that."

​The Moncton Archdiocese has already been struggling financially, as it looks for millions of dollars to pay compensation to victims of sexual abuse.

The diocesan centre was closed last year, after at least 90 victims came forward in a confidential compensation process headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Michel Bastarache, and about 10 lawsuits were filed against the church and two former priests.

Vienneau had warned at that time there could be more cutbacks pending, with the compensation awarded already totalling $5 million and civil suits still pending.

Some parishioners, like Rosemonde Chiasson, say it may be time to accept some church closures, even if there are sentimental reasons for wanting to keep them open.

"They've been baptized there, they've been married there, and their children have been baptized there. And it's all good reasons to keep our churches open. But is it the best thing? Are we looking at what's essential?

Barb Cormier agrees. "We can't keep them all open. If we're struggling to do so, then it's good to have this come up and look at everything and re-evaluate."

The archbishop says two committees — one for the English parishes and one for the French parishes — will start evaluating each church.

The review could take up to two years, he said.

"There are some churches which are probably afraid they might close. But if they can't come together with some community activities or plans to make their church lively, well there's nothing we can really do about that," Vienneau said.