The Camden Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church, which serves six counties in southern New Jersey, announced Thursday that it is consolidating churches.
Bishop Joseph Lagante announced that the diocese will cut the amount of parishes from 124 to 66 over the next 24 months.
The Diocese of Camden said the reason for the consolidation is the lack of attendance at certain churches in the area.
The Paterson (NJ) Diocese in northern New Jersey said they will have a similar plan of action, giving 16 parishes until June to recommend changes.
Catholic churches have been dealing with shrinking Mass attendance, a shortage of priests and financial problems largely because of changing demographic patterns.
Due to the news, the Diocese of Camden website, located at www.camdendiocese.org, has crashed.
The Courier-Post was one of the first newspapers to break the story. The newspaper website is located at www.courierpostonline.com.
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