The Church in the City Vision Statement

I. Introduction
II. What Has Transpired
III. Existing Trends
IV. The Challenge
V. Conclusion
VI. Contacts For More Information

Return to Previous Page

The Church in the City
Introduction

From its earliest days the mission of the Church in Northeast Ohio has been challenged and shaped by a common factor in the American experience--the movement of people. As early settlers crossed the Alleghenies and located in Ohio, pockets of Catholic families were served by missionaries on horseback who traveled long distances to offer Mass in places like Wooster, Chippewa and Valley City.

With the growth of Cleveland, Akron and Lorain/Elyria as industrial centers, waves of Catholic immigrants settled in these cities, and the Church responded to their needs by building parishes, schools and social service institutions to help them. For many years the largest number of Catholics was found in our major metropolitan areas, and it was in these cities that most churches and schools were built.

Shifting populations challenged the Church and its mission in the past. Now further shifts of population pose new challenges to the Church in the present. The Church in the Diocese of Cleveland is being called to respond as creatively and effectively as it responded in earlier times.

Community Change and the Cleveland Diocese

Dramatic demographic and economic changes have occurred over the past 40 years among the cities, villages and townships that comprise the Cleveland diocese. The problems and issues before the Church are, in large measure, the result of these changes, and the future role of the Church must be considered in relation to these changes. In this document I would like to:

1. present a perspective on what has transpired;
2. suggest that existing trends can be altered;
3. propose the role of the Church in continuing to serve the people of our diocese and in helping to shape a new and more beneficial future for the people in this part of Ohio.

This document will provide a framework and a focus for serious discussion throughout our diocese for the purpose of developing a formal plan of action.

Return to Top

What Has Transpired? A Theological Prologue

Much of what follows is sociological data and analysis, which may seem unrelated to the mission of the Church, but is, in fact, a necessary tool for theological reflection. Our primary mission is to proclaim the liberating message of life entrusted to us by Jesus Christ, but this message must always be related to the particular circumstances of the time and culture of the people to whom it is spoken. Hopefully, the analysis which follows allows us to speak more honestly and convincingly to the world in which we live.

There will be some who object to the Church inserting itself into a discussion which seems beyond its proper realm. In response to these objections, we recall the words of the 1971 Synod of Bishops: "Action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel, or in other words, of the Church's mission for the redemption of the human race and it's liberation from every oppressive situation." Efforts to transform our society so that each person can reach his or her full human potential is a "constitutive dimension" of our preaching mission.

The Development of the Suburbs; The Decline of Central Cities

Cleveland, Akron, and Lorain/Elyria are the three largest urban centers in the Diocese of Cleveland. Population trends in Cuyahoga, Summit and Lorain counties will serve to indicate how the population is shifting from city to suburb.

Overview of Outmigration

The figures in this table indicate that the populations of Cleveland and Akron are declining, while the suburbs around these cities continue to increase in population. While Lorain/Elyria has grown, suburbs have grown more.

As population has shifted, so too has the tax base of cities. As people of greater means have moved from central cities to suburbs, our cities and our city parishes remain home to growing concentrations of people of reduced income, fewer educational opportunities, and with little or no access to employment in the suburbs where jobs have moved as well. Despite these adversities, they remain good, hard working people with the same dreams, ideals and spiritual values as those who live in the suburbs.

As the populations of cities have changed, needs for education, social services and job retraining have grown. Since federal, state and local revenues to support those services have become more difficult to obtain, the burden is shifted to the private sector and especially to the churches. For many years the Catholic Church has served the people in our cities and made remarkable contributions to cities through its schools and its social services and especially through the dedication of women and men who have ministered in our cities in so many different ways. These contributions must continue, bolstered by the words of Pope Paul VI in Octagesima Adveniens, "Let Christians, conscious of this new responsibility, not lose heart in view of the vast and faceless society; let them recall Jonah who traversed Nineveh, the great city, to proclaim therein the good news of God's mercy and was upheld in his weakness by the sole strength of the word of Almighty God."

Return to Top

Existing Trends Must be Altered

Outmigration

Urban analysts inform us that what has fundamentally characterized urban areas since the end of World War II has been "outmigration"--the movement of people and employers from city to suburb, and from inner suburb to more distant suburb (often a new suburb).

We Americans move a great deal. How many times has each of us moved in our lifetime? Probably much more than most people in the world. Typically we move to better our living situation, we "move up" to a newer or brand new, sometimes larger home. There is nothing wrong with that. But what has turned out to be problematic is the extent to which we have favored building new suburban communities over maintaining and redeveloping cities.

In hindsight it is clear: over the past 40 years there was little balance between building new suburbs and rebuilding our cities--particularly city housing. More balance would have given people more choice between city and suburb. Not every one wants to move further out.

The lack of choice and the consequent dominance of outmigration helped to create stark separations of people: city vs. suburb, and even suburb vs. suburb. The poor and minorities have been isolated in concentrations that severely limit opportunities for a decent and secure life.

This social and economic separation is problematic not only because of its personal and social destructiveness, but because it is costly--for everyone. Studies are showing, across the country, that regions where the income of suburban residents has been growing least are where the income of city residents has been growing least. Suburbs and city are linked in a single economy. We should not be surprised at this finding. When businesses which are looking to locate or expand have choices among regions, they are likely to prefer those where distress, such as we have in Cleveland, is less. Employers will invest where negatives are fewer. The Akron- Cleveland-Lorain region is low in income growth, cities and suburbs together. Regions such as Columbus, Indianapolis, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Charlotte are reaping many more benefits of economic expansion than we are.

Source: "All in it Together: Cities, Suburbs and Local Economic Regions," National League of Cities, 1993. Income change takes account of inflation.

The negatives that have resulted in our region from 40 years of building new suburbs while abandoning old cities have accumulated to where they are serious obstacles to economic growth. All of us are paying a price, and that price will increase if we, as a region, fail to compete effectively for business investment, not only nationally, but internationally.

The Church, too, is paying a price for outmigration. Many of our city parishes are left with large, aging buildings and far fewer parishioners to support them. Faced with loss of population and consequent loss of financial support, parish schools are beginning to close, as well as some parishes. Dwindling financial resources do not allow for the hiring of adequate staffing to minister in the most effective way.

While these problems are most evident in the core cities, they now are at the doorsteps of inner suburbs. The outward flow of population that undermined our cities will do the same to suburbs, beginning with those next to the cities. Again, where is the balance between building new and more distant suburbs and maintaining or redeveloping older, inner suburbs?

The suburban Church also pays a price, as sudden growth demands new parish buildings and larger parish staffs. Catholics relocating in the suburbs are often faced with both a home mortgage and a church mortgage, demanding they stretch even further their limited financial resources.

Like city and suburb, the urban and suburban Church are linked by a single economy, and problems of the urban Church soon become problems for the suburban Church as well.

What Affects the Balance?

Movement out of cities began decades ago, but it wasn't because people were repelled by crime and unacceptable public schools, the reasons most cited today. At the end of World War II, the main reasons for moving were city smoke, dirt, noise and congestion. Many people wanted a cleaner, more peaceful environment, and a new, or newer, more spacious home. There was also widespread use of the practice of "blockbusting" which played upon the racial fears of people and contributed, perhaps more than anything else, to the movement to the suburbs. Nor can one reasonably deny that issues of color and culture continue to fuel the movement outward. Originally moves were from city to suburb. That continues, but now most movement is from suburb to more distant suburb. (Although some people move into or toward the city, studies show that most move further out.)

What has become clear in these decades of change is that government, federal, state and local, has played a major part in shaping the imbalance. Government facilitates and encourages development of new, ever-more-distant suburbs, and outmigration, by building highways and streets, by widening roads, by building water and sewer extensions. The effect of those installations is extremely powerful: where they are located is where homes are built. By constantly locating almost all new housing in outer-edge suburbs, overwhelming outmigration is inevitable.

Without question there has been, and is, strong public demand to live in outer suburbs, and government's support of that demand is not itself the issue. Urban problems have been greatly exacerbated because balanced support for the maintenance and redevelopment of cities (and now inner suburbs) has been absent.

Billions of government dollars have gone into paving the way for new suburbs while failing to recognize the consequences for existing communities. A recent example is Route 422 as it was built from Solon in Cuyahoga County into Geauga County at a cost of about $65 million. The impact of that highway on inner eastern suburbs of Cuyahoga County and the City of Cleveland is bound to be serious: it makes moving to Geauga County much more attractive.

This point is not intended to suggest that the highway should not have been built. But by ignoring its impact, government has further undermined the city and a number of eastern suburbs. Investment in the highway calls for counterbalancing investment in the communities affected so that they can enhance their attractiveness for current and prospective residents. Government funds are provided to the city and many suburbs for community improvement, but the amount compared with the impact of a $65 million highway is small.

But it is not only government that has been instrumental in these events. Builders, real estate brokers, developers, banks and others share responsibility for what has happened. Many have taken the easiest route to the greatest profit (in suburbs) and have ignored the need for reinvestment in maintenance and redevelopment in the city--thereby denying opportunity to those who would prefer to live in the city.

If Trends Continue...

If the imbalance of investments continues as it is, we can expect urban decline, and all of its negative aspects, to spread on an even broader scale. Neighborhoods that had been stable will erode, then suburbs, beginning with those closest to the city. Spreading decline will spawn more stress among people and institutions. It will weaken the fiscal strength of county governments, further jeopardizing the region's capacity to compete in the global economy. Countless amounts of the region's resources will be wasted as expenditures are made in building new facilities in outer areas, while abandoning core areas. Health care providers will be pressed to close inner facilities and build new ones out where "growth" is occurring. Utilities (electricity, etc.) will extend new service capacities and under-utilize what already exists in the urban core. Libraries, schools, transportation services, recreational facilities, etc. will be faced with similar costly adjustments.

Will using our resources in this way make us more competitive in the new global economy? Will it reduce unemployment? Help us build racial harmony? Create community stability? Inspire us to treat each other more kindly and decently in our day to day encounters? Most surely not. Continuing in this way will only worsen what already has been severely aggravated over the past 40 years. We must change course if we are to create a society where "social groups and their individual members (have) relatively thorough and ready access to their own fulfillment." (Gaudium et Spes) If outmigration trends continue, the Church will be effected as strongly as others. More and more buildings too large and expensive to maintain will be left in the central cities and inner suburbs. Congregations will decrease and be unable to support their parishes adequately. Parishes will be serving populations which "return" to the old neighborhood for Mass, anxious to preserve buildings but not always interested in serving the population presently living in the neighborhood. Catholic schools in the cities will serve an increasingly poorer population and will face increasing difficulty with financial support. Outer suburbs will continue to expend even more finances to build for the increasing population. Present trends will bring increased hardships for people remaining in the cities and for those who are moving outward.

Return to Top

The Challenge

The Church has been sent by Christ to reveal and communicate the love of God to all people. In fulfilling its mission, the Church must take into account various social conditions which impact upon this mission. Hopefully it is clear from what has been described above that we are challenged on two fronts: we must recognize and respond to the needs of those, the urban poor, who have been terribly hurt by the outmigration of the non-poor and employers; and we must become engaged in changing the practices of our governments that have contributed to the disastrous situation before us.

The first challenge is entirely within our hands. To what extent will we recognize it and respond? The extent is entirely up to us. Changing the practice of our governments, however, is not entirely up to us. We have a role to play, but we alone cannot do it. We must join with others, many others, in that undertaking. Some of us may feel that it is hopeless, that change of such magnitude, involving deeply rooted attitudes and beliefs, is beyond realistic expectation. But I do not see it that way at all. If anything, reason for hope is greatest when we face reality. So let us face it, and let us join with our neighbors, public officials and community leaders in the hopeful undertaking of building a new urban future for Northeast Ohio.

Let me suggest that these challenges be met in keeping with the following five principles:

Social Justice: The practice of charity is different from promoting change which will further the cause of social justice. We are called to work to change underlying causes of what has transpired, focusing on policies and practices of federal, state and local government that strongly favor outmigration over moving inward or simply staying in one's community. The point is not to halt outmigration, as people must be free to move as they wish, but to balance the role of government in such a way that redevelopment and maintenance of cities and inner suburbs is given as much support as the development of new suburbs. Achievement of the needed change will require unprecedented cooperative action on the part of public officials across the region, in order to influence state and federal government and in order to guide future public investments toward new visions and goals. Rebuilding must occur in our cities where vacant land presents that opportunity. But we must rebuild in ways that serve to heal the wounds and close the separations that have been opened and aggravated by what has transpired over the past 40 years.

Redevelopment: Government policies which support development of new suburbs while neglecting the redevelopment of older cities have contributed to the problems caused by outmigration. In an analogous way, the Church can fall victim to this same strategy by concentrating on the development of newer parishes in the suburbs, while older parishes in the cities are allowed to decline. For government, banks, developers, real estate brokers and others, redevelopment means creating and investing in projects such as Church Square and Central Commons in Cleveland and Opportunity Park in Akron. For the Church, redevelopment means renewing its commitment to the cities and finding ways to provide necessary resources for ministry being done there.

Interdependence: City and suburbs are linked by single economy. City and suburban Church are similarly linked by a common mission. Many differences exist between ministry to the city and ministry to the suburbs, but a single mission to reveal God's love binds them together. There are gifts present in every church, whether urban or suburban, which can be shared with all the churches. In order to deal effectively with the effects of outmigration, we will need to find ways to share these gifts more widely with one another. Parishes which have reached out beyond their boundaries have given witness to the kind of Church we ought to be. The parish which does not in some way extend its work beyond its own parish boundaries fails to be Church in its most complete meaning. In our diocesan commitment to stewardship, we must seek to define stewardship in a way that encompasses the urban and suburban Church, with the gifts and problems unique to each.

Restructuring: In order to more effectively and more efficiently serve the people living in the cities, it will be necessary to restructure the parishes in such a way that they will be able to offer proper ministry to their people. We must also work to makes these parishes financially stable and, as much as possible, independent of diocesan subsidy. Restructuring of our city parishes will not diminish in any way the Church's commitment to the city, but will actually increase the effectiveness of the Church's presence there. In considering the ways in which the Church can be restructured in the city, special care must be taken to be sensitive to the cultural diversity of its residents.

Preferential Love for the Poor: Acknowledging that there are many poor people living in the suburbs, we must still admit that more and more the results of outmigration have contributed to the existence of two societies: one poor and living in the older cities, the other more affluent and living in the outer suburbs. The love of Christ compels us to turn our attention to the needs of our poorer sisters and brothers, who have been most hurt by present policies. Following the example of St. Vincent de Paul, the Apostle of Charity, we cannot relax our efforts to assist the poor in their need. We must be especially mindful of women and children, who are often the primary victims of social neglect.

Conclusion: Let us Build the City of God

"In the Bible, the city is in fact often the place of sin and pride of man who feels secure enough to be able to build his life without God and even to affirm that he is powerful against God. But there is also the example of Jerusalem, the Holy City, the place where God is encountered, the promise of the city which comes from on high." (Octagesima Adveniens)

The new Jerusalem of the Book of Revelations is both a promise and a challenge. It is a promise of God's final manifestation of power and justice, which will restore the world to its original harmony and order. It is a challenge to each of us to listen to Pope John Paul II as he reminds us: "To 'have' objects and goods does not in itself perfect the human subject unless it contributes to the maturing and enrichment of that subject's 'being', that is to say, unless it contributes to the realization of the human vocation as such." (Sollicitudo Rei). It is an invitation to begin now to participate in the life of that heavenly city by practicing the mercy and justice which will make our earthly cities a reflection of that city which is to come.

We can create new cities, the kind our society longs for: cities where people of different incomes, races and cultures can live together and be enriched by each other's presence; cities where the poor and disadvantaged will be able to live and achieve beyond their initial circumstances to the fullness of their human potential; cities where the weak and the powerless will be freed from chains forged by fear of violence and delivered from the destructiveness of drugs. We can build new cities where children will be able to live in decent homes, have sufficient food and receive an education which will prepare them for a life of meaningful employment.

Even as we wait for the new heaven and new earth, let us begin to build a new city of justice and peace. I invite all people of good will to cooperate in the work of creating such a city. I ask our government officials to renew and increase their efforts to assist in the task of developing and redeveloping our urban centers. In a special way, I call on all Catholics in every part of our Cleveland Diocese to join me in this commitment to our cities and the churches in our cities.

As the next step proceeding from this document, I am asking that throughout the diocese discussions take place to suggest practical means of implementing the vision expressed here. These suggestions will be placed in the hands of a Task Force charged with developing a formal plan of action.

Jesus loved the city of Jerusalem and wept over its impending destruction. May we imitate Jesus in his concern for the city, as we begin the work of rebuilding our cities as places where people can dwell in life-giving relationships with God and with one another.

Return to Top