By Denise Richardson
Staff Writer
Thomas Armstrong of Springfield
Center said he has attended
services at Blessed Sacrament in
Springfield Center since about
1930.
The Catholic church is ``one
of the nicest old churches in the
area,’’ he said, and was the site of
his baptism and marriage and the
baptisms and confirmation of his
five children.
However, the church is a mission
of St. Thomas in Cherry Valley, and
attendance has been mostly travelers
and campers during the tourist
season, Armstrong said Monday.
The decision by the bishop of the
Albany Diocese of the Roman Catholic
Church to close the site, among
others, wasn’t a surprise, he said.
``It doesn’t really bother me,’’
said Armstrong, the Springfield
town supervisor. ``It should have
been closed.’’
Blessed Sacrament will close by
Oct. 18, under the diocese’s plan
announced this weekend, and St.
Mary’s in Sharon Springs, another
mission of St. Thomas, will close
by Dec. 31. St. Thomas in Cherry
Valley will become a mission of St.
Mary’s “Our Lady of the Lake” in
Cooperstown, and Catholic churches
in Summit and Schoharie and
missions in Edmeston, Roxbury
and Schenevus will close under the
plan titled ``Called to BE Church.’’
The Rev. Matthew H. Frosoni,
administrator of St. John the Baptist
in Walton, which has the Holy
Family mission in Downsville and
St. Peter’s in Delhi, said the three
churches will remain open and
strengthen bonds. The diocese’s
reorganization has been an important
step toward increasing awareness
of the shortage of priests and
helping Catholics understand and
hear about the future of the faith,
he said Monday.
On Sunday, the Rev. John P.
Rosson, pastor of St. Mary’s in Cooperstown,
said the changes risk
alienating parishioners, who might
decide to attend other denominations
with closer churches or not
attend any service.
The Albany Diocese has 124 active
diocesan priests for an estimated
400,000 Catholics, officials
said. In the 1960s, the diocese had
about 400 priests, and the projection
is there will be fewer than 100
diocesan priests in 2020.
The reorganization in the 165
parishes throughout the 14-county
diocese called for 33 worship sites
to close by the end of 2011.
Armstrong said he will to go to
Blessed Sacrament before it closes.
He has attended St. Joseph in
Richfield Springs on Saturday or
Cherry Valley on Sunday for the
past three to five years.
Local News -
January 20, 2009
Some Catholics OK with closings
- Local News
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