Right to Eucharist: Detroit Priests, Laity Take Action

On March 19 Fr. Jim Coriden and FutureChurch’s Emily Holtel-Hoag gave a presentation to over 200 people on The Parish in a Time of Diminishing Numbers of Priests at Sacred Heart Church in Detroit. “Many, many parishes now in our country are without the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist, because there aren’t enough priests; and we won’t let anybody else lead the celebration of the Eucharist,” said Coriden. “...And that’s in a sense an infringement of the basic rights of the parish—I’m talking about Canons 213 and 214 specifically in that one.” (The full text of Coriden’s presentation is available at www.elephantsinthelivingroom.com).

Holtel-Hoag spoke about FutureChurch’s Do Not Stifle the Spirit! statement naming best practices for preserving vibrant parishes and addressed proactive strategies for keeping parishes open contained in FutureChurch’s Save Our Parish Community resource.

The talk was sponsored by Elephants in the Living Room, a Detroit group of priests and laity committed to preserving urban parishes.

After the forum, the Elephants group established an ad hoc committee composed of two priests and one lay person to meet with parish teams who are discerning their future to offer materials and counsel not being provided by the Archdiocese Department of Parish Life. The most vulnerable parishes are those within the city of Detroit.