ST. LOUIS — A group called "Save Rome of the West" has formed in response to the expectation of a historic restructuring of the regional network of Roman Catholic churches. Though small, it signals the kinds of difficult discussions that lie ahead.
"Our goal is to keep sacred spaces from being turned profane," said Jason Bolte, 50, leader of the group. "We will be doing what we can, canonically speaking, to block the sale of any church that comes down the pike."
St. Louis Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski recently announced the planning stage for what will lay out the "most sweeping" changes in the archdiocese's history. Each of the 178 parishes in the archdiocese are supposed to be affected by the "All Things New" initiative.
