Talk:Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie
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[edit] How typical of this diocese
By reading this page, I would think that Erie is the only town in this diocese. I shouldn't be shocked, as that is the general attitude of the Bishop and the administrators of this diocese as a whole, but it would be nice if, say, St. Francis Parish in Clearfield were mentioned with the other historically important churches. I'm not sure what is historically important about two of the parishes mentioned on the list, already, but whatever. For those of you in the diocesean administration who are unaware that St. Francis exists (and I am sure that is all of you) it IS the oldest parish in the diocese. What about mentioning St Catherine's in DuBois... didn't know that one existed either, did you? Also, by reading this article, I would think that Catholics only bury their dead in Erie... the rest of us just must let them rot in the forrest somewhere.
BTW... perhaps I should mention the numerous petitions that have been made to seperate the Eastern portion of the diocese from Erie. Or how all our money goes into funding athletic scholarships for Cathedral Prep while schools all over the rest of the diocese scrape for funds just to get by. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.72.42.59 (talk • contribs) 5:53 2007-06-27
- I've contributed quite a bit to this article and I'm not with the diocese. I'm not even a Catholic, for that matter. But I plead guilty to writing from the perspective of Erie, because that is where I live. It is totally appropriate for people familiar with other parts of the diocese to add their perspective to the article. I am simply unfamiliar with Clearfield and DuBois. Climb out of the rotting forest of obscurity and contribute to this piece. And don't be angry at the diocesan administration for something they had no part in. ;-) --Pat 09:56, 27 June 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Erie is a Fair Diocese
As a native of Erie, it is so discouraging to see comments like the one above. For those of us who live in Erie, we feel entirely different about the other areas of the diocese lacking attention. In fact, many parishes within Erie and its adjacent suburbs are lucky to get an annual visit from the Bishop, Donald Trautman, as he is dedicated to visiting every parish. If you meet him, or for that matter, any other administrator of the Diocese, you will realize how pleased they are to have the more rural, majestic areas of the diocese.
The fact is, however, Erie is, by far, the largest city in this Diocese. In fact, it has more than twice the population (as a whole, and Catholic as well) of any other city. With no other city even close to Erie's size, it is no wonder Erie gets the most attention. The same principle applies to why we hear much more about, say, New York City, than Erie. Size makes a difference at all scales. While not undermining the other areas of the diocese, which are beautiful and have their nodes of activity, Erie is bound to get the most attention. I cannot emphasize enough how this does not minimize the other areas of the diocese, such as the wonderful cities and towns of Meadville, Sharon, Clearfield, DuBois and many more, it is just that the biggest city is bound to get the most attention.
In terms of funding, the diocese gives NO money to Cathedral Prep for scholarships; all money is raised by the many succesful alums from Prep. Prep, to an outsider, may seem to get the most attention from the diocese, but those close to the school laugh at how wrong this assumption is. Prep students are lucky to see the bishop who lives footsteps away once or twice a year. True, also, that Prep is in the midst of a massive renovation/expansion, but again, all money comes from alums, with many alums giving gifts of a million dollars.
The wealthiest parishes in the diocese are located in Erie and its suburbs, and every year they are required to participated in the Diocesan Stewardship Campaign, where they are required to pay the diocese a substantial amount of money overhead (often which totals over $150,000) so that the diocese can pay other struggling parishes located not only in the city of Erie, but in the outlying areas as well.
So, in conclusion, the Diocese of Erie is proud of its outlying areas, which are often cited as the most beautiful areas of the entire diocese. The diocese funds all areas evenly and Erie does not get an unproportional amount of money. It gets what seems like an enormous chunk of the cash because it has to serve more Catholics than outlying areas. With a Diocese as large as Erie, many (including Erieites) are bound to feel neglected or left out, but the fact is the Diocese tries to do the best it can while covering thirteen vast counties. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jsimon321 (talk • contribs) 5:05 UTC 2007-07-30
- Wiki is a community and we each enter text about what we know or are interested in. The outlying areas are simply not as heavily populated and will have less representation at Wikipedia. Those in Erie covering the Erie Diocese may have to broaden their scope and write some text about significant features of the diocese outside the Erie metro area. Maybe that will require some Wiki road trips? If I had some information about historic Catholic churches and cemeteries outside of Erie, I would contribute to the cause. Post some topics here that need to be covered and we'll see if some balance can't be restored. Like I said above, this is a Wiki effort and should not reflect on the diocese one way or the other. --Pat 15:03, 5 August 2007 (UTC)
