Sioux City Faces Reorganization

A pastoral planning process—Ministry 2025—has begun in the Diocese of Sioux City, Iowa. According to the Rev. Brent Lingle, diocesan director of pastoral planning, the diocese recently unveiled a draft pastoral plan that strives to create parishes “where the faith is lived out, grows and attracts people into it.” The diocese reports that by 2025, only 31 priests will be available to serve as pastors. Currently, 58 priests are active in pastoral ministry. Bishop R. Walker Nickless of Sioux City said it was important to take a proactive approach in planning for the future of the diocese. “As bishop, I have to be a good steward of our resources, and one of the most important and valuable are our priests,” he said. “I need to take care of them.” Many of the diocese’s active priests are baby boomers reaching the age of retirement, and the bishop said they deserve the chance to retire.