DETROIT – The Catholic faith is declining in Metro Detroit, and it has been for a while.
Last November, the Archdiocese announced a major effort to reshape the Church’s future here.
From what Archbishop Edward Weisenburger said in an announcement until now, the Archdiocese has been in what they call a period of discernment.
They dug into parish data, sat down with priests, deacons and parish leaders, and started developing new leadership models for how parishes will operate going forward. That first phase wrapped up last month.
Now, they are moving into phase two, which is listening and refinement. And as part of that, parish workbooks packed with data are being handed out across the Archdiocese.
Mass attendance has dropped by 92,000 since 2011 -- a 40% decline over 13 years.
That is an average drop of about 4% every single year.
And the Church is getting older, not younger.
Infant baptisms have dropped 60 to 70% from their peak in 1960. Both marriages and funerals are down, too.
On top of that, the number of priests is shrinking. And projections show that number could drop another 25 to 30% over the next decade.
So what happens next? Each parish will be holding listening sessions — giving everyday Catholics a chance to weigh in on the future of their Church.
Father Mario Amore, with the Archdiocese of Detroit, one of the key people who has been leading this restructuring effort, joined Local 4 Live to help break this down.
You can watch the full interview in the video at the beginning of this article.