I think it's reasonable to infer several things here:
- The Holy See has taken an interest in how many members are coming to the OCSP from OLA
- As of now, fewer members have joined than the Holy See was expecting
- There could possibly be consequences for the OCSP if more members don't come in.
Let's look at this too in the context of the new clergy assigned to St John the Evangelist Calgary, another full parish -- if the full parishes aren't coming up to expectations, I've got to wonder how the CDF is looking at the quasi-parishes and groups.
My current thinking about Calgary is that its membership is insufficient to pay a pastor. I would guess Fr-designate Martens will keep his weekday job as chancellor of the diocese, which would continue to pay him. The incoming Gilbertines, as religious, would be paid much less than secular priests. I assume there is some saving there. I would guess that Fr Kenyon took off, or was possibly eased out, because he wasn't getting paid, or at least not the full amount
Consider that an attendance of 140 a week means far fewer pledging entities, since families attend as units. Let's be generous and say there are 70 pledges at an average of $30 per week, a very rough ballpark number. This is $2100 per week or $9100 per month, $109,200 per year. But if the mortgage is $5000 per month or $60,000 per year by my regular correspondent's estimate, and maintenance-insurance-utilities are high five figures per year by my estimate, the parish is at best breaking even without even paying anyone a salary.
I think this is an example of a pattern that can only continue: founding pastors retire or move on, in part because parishes can't pay an acceptable salary. The experienced pastors can't be replaced by more logical candidates for precisely this reason. Instead, the OCSP must rely on the marginal candidates who present themselves, including those with uncertain backgrounds or little pastoral experience. But this is simply keeping up appearances, putting warm bodies in pastoral slots -- what could possibly go wrong?
One question will be how much the membership at OLA has been exaggerated. My understanding is that the financial issues there are tangled.
