Christian Gammon-Roy
Tribune
The community of Cache Bay is facing the possible closure of its catholic church, Ste-Thérèse d’Avila, due to dwindling attendance.
Bishop Thomas Dowd of the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie issued a letter to Cache Bay residents on Friday, October 24, asking for feedback to inform decisions regarding the future of their church. As the letter states, the Pastoral Council of the church reached out Bishop Dowd in August, and “proposed, with a heavy heart, that perhaps it was time to close the parish.” However, the Bishop insists that the decision can only come after consultation and, as such, he is inviting comments until Sunday, November 30.
“I try to govern the diocese according to the best practices of Catholicism. There is a principle that is very important, and it’s that you don’t make decisions for people without consulting them first. The Church is not a democracy, but we’re not a dictatorship either. I sometimes call it a consultocracy,” expresses Bishop Dowd. He says the idea to reach out to the community for feedback came last winter during a visit to the parish, after he had spoken to the Pastoral Council.
Father Gerald Lajeunesse, who presides over services at the church, explains that attendance to weekly mass reaches only around 20 people. Low attendance is a key issue, since it also means that incoming funds are insufficient.
However, the bishop points out that those attending regular mass are not the only people considered as parishioners. “A Catholic is a member of a parish simply by living within the parish. You don’t have to sign up to become a parishioner, you simply have to move and live where a parish exists,” he describes, adding that meant reaching out to the whole community and hoping that other concerned parishioners “make themselves known.” With that in mind, they used an address database and sent letters to the community at large.
