The Diocese of Allentown is moving forward with the consolidation of three churches in the Panther Valley.

Over the weekend, a letter written by Bishop John O. Barres was read to the congregations of St. Francis of Assisi in Nesquehoning, St. Katharine Drexel in Lansford and St. Joseph in Summit Hill. The letter announced that on July 1, the parishes of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Katharine Drexel will close and consolidate with St. Joseph.The new parish will use the current St. Joseph building in Summit Hill and will be led by the Rev. James Burdess, pastor of St. Joseph."The Diocesan Pastoral Planning Commission was asked in January to do an evaluation of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Nesquehoning, St. Katharine Drexel Parish in Lansford and St. Joseph Parish in Summit Hill," the diocese said in a statement. "Because of the parishes' role in supporting Our Lady of the Angels Academy in Lansford, it too was to be part of the plan. The aim of the evaluation was to balance all variables and create a sustainable Catholic parish in the region."Pastoral plan processThe diocese evaluated the three parishes and the school's financial situations, the relationships between the parishes and school, the demographic information of the region, the number of priests it has available for the parish ministry, the physical condition and the size of the church buildings and "the need to provide the spiritual care of the faithful.""While difficult, this process offers the means to maintain a presence of a Catholic church in the Panther Valley and the opportunity to grow and meet the challenges facing the church in the 21st century," the diocese said.The pastoral plan was developed by the Diocesan Pastoral Planning Commission and submitted to the Council of Priests and the Diocesan Board of Education for consideration before the decision was made and recommended to Barres.Shrine to remainThe diocesan Shrine of St. Therese of Lisieux at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in New Columbus will remain open, the Diocese of Allentown also said. It will continue to be used under the current directives found in the statutes.The Shrine to St. Therese of Lisieux was established in 2013 after the diocese agreed to the shrine following a four-year battle between the parishioners and the Catholic church and the Vatican Congregation for Clergy.The shrine is open for private prayer, the Rosary and Benediction. Mass is typically celebrated there on Saturday mornings.It is also known for its annual Shower of Roses on the first Sunday in October.Residents speak outArea residents of the parishes and school have voiced their sadness or anger following the announcements.Christa Kattner of Nesquehoning, who is a graduate of Our Lady of the Valley, Our Lady of the Angels predecessor, and who was rooted in the Nesquehoning churches, said that she was upset by the diocese's decision, as well as their decision to not first consult the parishioners and show them the findings."While this is a heartbreaking decision that has been made I feel that the worst part is how this has been handled by the diocese," she said. "While I understand that the outcome would have likely been the same I feel that parishioners at my church of St. Francis, and at St. Katharine Drexel were owed clear communication where the reasons for needing to close churches were clearly laid out to us."We should have been shown why, in black and white, our church could not be sustained in addition to St Joseph's."A diocese representative should have come to discuss matters with the individual parishes and shown more compassion for people who are losing a very important part of their lives ... they need to remember that before business there are people who need to be treated compassionately."Kattner said that she feels the diocese knew the closures were coming well before the evaluations even started, citing the fact that once their priest at St. Francis was reassigned no new priest was assigned to take over."They were dishonest or at the very least misleading to us," she said. "They must remember that only several years ago they already closed so many of our parishes, including my first parish of Sacred Heart, and to be doing this again is not only a heartbreaking thing for many of us, but when handled in the wrong way will not unify our parishes but further divide and even push people away from the church."A painful pastThe announcement comes eight years after the Diocese of Allentown, under then Bishop Edward P. Cullen, closed 47 churches in the diocese following a two-year study that looked at the current overall stability of the parishes, as well as the number of priests available to oversee the parishes in the future.At that time, all Catholic parishes in Coaldale, as well as SS. Peter and Paul and St. Ann's in Lansford were closed and consolidated with St. Michael's in Lansford to become St. Katharine Drexel.Sacred Heart, Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Immaculate Conception in Nesquehoning were combined to become St. Francis of Assisi.St. Stanislaus in Summit Hill was closed and consolidated with St. Joseph in the borough.The restructuring rocked the faith of many, and the battle over Our Lady of Mount Carmel began.Farewell services were held and tears flowed as parishioners locked the doors of the churches one last time.Since then, SS. Peter and Paul, St. Stanislaus and Sacred Heart have been torn down after the buildings were put back on tax rolls and attempts to sell the aging structures were unsuccessful.St. Ann's is slated for demolition in the near future.