Camden, NJ, Bishop Joseph Galante on Friday has announced the creation of two new parishes and the merger of four existing parishes will be merged. It was the fourth such announcement since June by Galante, who unveiled plans in April 2008 to almost halve the number of parishes in his diocese, the Courier-Post reports.
The restructuring is meant in part to address a priest shortage and to create more active parishes, according to Galante. But the effort, which is closing some churches and retiring long-familiar parish names, also has sparked opposition from some area Catholics.
Galante said the new Pennsauken parish, Mary, Queen of All Saints, will be created by merging the township's St. Cecilia and St. Veronica parishes.
In the other merger, Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish in Berlin Borough will join with St. Edward Parish in Pine Hill. The resulting parish, St. Simon Stock, is to serve about 3,900 families. It will be based at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church.
Decrees creating the new parishes are to take effect Nov. 4.
In announcing the mergers, Galante cited "almost a year of extensive preparation by core team members" from the involved parishes. He said the parishes "have worked together to provide a common base from their diverse experiences."
He said core team members also "have come to see that the new combined community of faith will best serve their area of the diocese."
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