This type of effort should have been done as part of the "Journey in Faith & Grace", not afterwards. It would have provided valuable information to the Diocese that it could have used in the decision-making process.

The so-called Journey in Faith and Grace is going to result in several more empty, aging buildings in a city that already has too many empty, unwanted, rundown properties. The repair and reuse of these empty Catholic churches is going to be a tremendous and costly undertaking. Our regions economy is still tepid and our real estate market is still somewhat sluggish so that is going to make it much harder to find a viable new use for these closed church buildings.