Those numbers have been declining as parishes close and merge, and fewer people fill the pews. Church officials say ... More buildings are underused or empty; costs to keep those buildings open ...

The bricks are not sacred, but the church has been the site of many emotional experiences and those memories should be respected." The bishops hope that empty churches can be occupied by other ...

St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Kitchener will close in June, after two years of discussion about the pastoral and ...

The complicated legacy of Exman’s oeuvre, Prothero writes, “taught millions to hate the word religion and love the word spirituality, and, in so doing, it helped to empty the pews in ...