Bishop Zubik: Decision To Close St. John Vianney Not An Easy One

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The days are numbered for a local Catholic church.

St. John Vianney in Allentown is set to close on April 3. So, on Tuesday, Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik explained that the decision was not a tough one to make.

Bishop Zubik says closing a parish is never an easy or a quick decision, and the choice to close St. John Vianney was not one made alone.

"This was not a solitary decision. There was a lot of consultation that took place," Bishop Zubik said. "The parish is already $3 million in debt. It would take more than a million dollars to repair the building."

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Bishop Zubik says it was the end of 2014 when he was first approached by the parish priest and both the parish and finance councils.

"They felt that the parish was not financially feasible anymore and they were the ones who brought the petition to me in August to say they really felt that the parish needed to be closed," he said.

The Diocese says St. John Vianney has fewer than 400 parishioners attending Mass every weekend. And folks KDKA spoke to over the weekend say people were worried for a long time about the church closing.

"I have been going to this church all my life," said Maryann Webber, a parishioner. "It's so sad that I won't be able to go to my church anymore."

Bishop Zubik says there are no plans to demolish the building and three churches in nearby neighborhoods are ready to welcome in St. John's parishioners.

Meanwhile, Bob Kress, president the parish's Preservation Society, says he plans to appeal the decision.

"If that fails, we're prepared to take our appeal all the way to the Vatican if we have to," he said.