bcoupland@tribtoday.com
YOUNGSTOWN Calling his first three months in the Diocese of Youngstown “invigorating,” Bishop David Bonnar said he wants to do all he can to support the parishes in the diocese’s six counties.
He said he will need to spend time meeting with a new presbyteral council of priests that advises him along with a new pastoral council of laity that advises him on different matters.
One task is to address the future of the many parishes in a reconfiguration plan, which has had many parishes merging into one unit.
“The plan has already looked regionally and grouped parishes together,” the bishop said. “I don’t have a crystal ball, but I have inherited a plan that is ongoing. That plan continued to be executed even during the midst of the pandemic. I feel confident about the plan that has been in place.”