June 28, 2007

The Most Reverend Edward P. Cullen, D.D., Bishop of Allentown has accepted the recommendation of the Diocesan Pastoral Council that the parishes of the Diocese be organized into 33 deanery regions for purposes of studying parish consolidation or restructuring.

Statute 3 of the Second Synod of the Diocese of Allentown states, "Within each deanery, and where appropriate between deaneries, the Vicar Forane shall organize groupings of parishes subject to the review, modification and consent of the Diocesan Bishop." Each grouping of parishes is called a Deanery Region.

The Vicars Forane (Deans) developed first drafts of the Deanery Regions in February of this year. In March the Diocesan Pastoral Council accepted this draft and recommended that the Deans present the first draft to priests at their respective Spring Deanery Meetings.

The priests made minor alterations developing a second draft. In May, deanery regions committees reviewed the second drafts of the proposed deanery regions. Each Deanery Region Committee is made up of pastors, parochial vicars and two representatives of each parish who are designated by their respective pastor.

The Deanery Region committees developed the "final" drafts that were reviewed by the Diocesan Pastoral Council and recommended to the Bishop who gave his final approval.

The 33 Deanery Regions range in size from as few as two parishes to as many as nine. Most are grouped according to location; some are grouped as parishes of a similar size and nature, i.e. large suburban parishes.

The Diocesan Pastoral Council will provide guidelines, which will be used by the Deanery Regions in planning the consolidation and restructuring of parishes. Using these guidelines, the representatives from each Deanery Region shall study and evaluate the parishes within its region and make a recommendation to the Diocesan Pastoral Council as to which parishes, if any, should be consolidated or restructured.

The Deanery Region committees will begin meeting in the fall, armed with the results of parish self-studies that will be completed in September. The parish self-studies will bring the insights of the parishioners to the process, a necessary piece of information when considering possible parish consolidations and restructuring.

Copyright 2003 The Catholic Diocese of Allentown
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