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Bishop Doherty is grateful to all who have prayed for the Diocese during this difficult time of fewer priests available for ministry. At this moment, there are vacancies for priests in four pastorates. In the last several months, Bishop Doherty has gathered with the Diocese priests, along with his staff members, to discern a path forward. It is apparent that the current reality is not sustainable; changes must be made.
As Bishop Doherty has mentioned before, there was no formula or set problem-solving structure to be followed. There are no easy or perfect answers.
Just as the parishes in the Diocese have been working on a pastoral vision plan for the renewal of each parish, the Diocese has been doing the same thing. An overarching motive of these consultations has been to respect the capacities of the priests in our diocese and to better enable them and other staff members to tend to the People of God.
In the May 14 edition of The Catholic Moment, non-personnel changes, such as the number and times of Masses will be announced. Then, on the following weekend of May 20 - 21 assignments will be announced in the affected parishes only. A complete list of priest assignments will appear in the June 4 edition of The Catholic Moment.
Fr. Tom, our pastor, is not aware of any changes at St. Tom’s. Many parishes, however, will be affected. Let us pray for the Diocese of Lafayette and all its parishes during this critical moment in time.
