• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Elizabeth Scalia
          • Michael R. Heinlein
          • Effie Caldarola
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Mark Viviano
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • Magazine Subscriptions
        • Archdiocesan Directory
  • CR Radio
        • CR Radio
        • Protagonistas de Fe
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
Nearly 1,000 people attend an April 30, 2024, listening session for Seek the City To Come at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

Building the team

June 3, 2024
By Archbishop William E. Lori
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Charity in Truth, Commentary, From the Archbishop, Seek the City to Come

Dedicated Orioles fans went through more seasons than we care to remember in the doldrums. Our team was near the bottom in the American League East. Attendance was down. Gone were the glory days of Cal Ripken Jr. Thoughts of winning another World Series were a mirage.

Some questioned the future of the Orioles. “Would the team stay in Baltimore?” they wondered. Attendance was down. Fans were angry and disappointed. But some fans remained as dedicated as ever, believing and hoping that better days lie ahead.

All the while, something good was happening. The team was rebuilding itself. It was attracting new players. It was making improvements to Camden Yards and investing in its future in ways different from the past. As it went through this process, there were critics and skeptics but over the last few seasons, the performance of the Orioles has improved dramatically.

A similar process is going on in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

It’s no secret that the Seek the City to Come process has left more than a few people angry and disappointed. While this two-year public process has involved thousands of people across Baltimore and its environs, many either did not know about it or perhaps did not become involved until it became apparent that decisions were about to be made.

To many, the closure of parishes looks like decline. Pundits speculate: “Is it the scandals?” Or “Chapter 11?” “Is it celibacy?” – overlooking the fact that the population of the City of Baltimore is less than half of what it was when the 61 parishes in and around Baltimore were flourishing.

Like Orioles teams in the down years, the clergy, religious and lay leaders have labored heroically to keep parishes going, often depending heavily on Catholics driving in from the suburbs on Sunday morning. Burdened with aging buildings badly in need of expensive repairs and renovations, many of these parishes found it difficult to evangelize the very neighborhoods they are in.

Yes, many see the closure of parishes as evidence that the Catholic Church is pulling out of Baltimore. Yet, not unlike the Orioles in their down seasons, something good is happening just below the surface. Rebuilding is going on. Sustainable parishes are being formed that will have what it takes to offer a full range of pastoral services and to evangelize the neighborhoods they are in, while continuing ministries of service. In the meantime, the Hispanic Catholic population in the city is burgeoning and, in some neighborhoods, the number of Catholic young adults is on the rise.

Religious orders are making fresh commitments to help staff these newly reconfigured parishes. With some 60 seminarians, a new generation of priests to serve all the parishes in the archdiocese is in the making. Catholic Charities is constructing an intergenerational center in the heart of West Baltimore. Our community schools continue to provide a high-quality Catholic education for deserving students from Baltimore’s most underserved neighborhoods.

As the Orioles were rebuilding, there were critics and skeptics while others preferred to look longingly at the past. So too, it’s tempting just to criticize Seek the City or to be nostalgic about the past. But that is not who we are as Catholic Christians. We are a people of faith, hope and love. We are bonded together by “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” Our faith does not hinge on specific buildings but on the Person of Christ and on our common bond, forged by the Spirit, as members of the Body of Christ.

Now is the time to look to the future with hope. To renew our efforts to evangelize. To build up our team. And yes, to Seek the City to Come!

Read More Commentary

Thank you to a one-of-a-kind teacher

Jesus doesn’t leave us alone in the night

A homemade pie that is ready to bake sits on a kitchen counter next to a rolling pie

A Key Ingredient

Practice the ‘BeDADitudes’

Comfort my people: Unexpected surprises in life

A father’s gift 

Copyright © 2024 Catholic Review Media

Print Print

Primary Sidebar

Archbishop William E. Lori

View all posts from this author

| Recent Commentary |

Thank you to a one-of-a-kind teacher

Jesus doesn’t leave us alone in the night

A homemade pie that is ready to bake sits on a kitchen counter next to a rolling pie

A Key Ingredient

Practice the ‘BeDADitudes’

Comfort my people: Unexpected surprises in life

| Recent Local News |

Prodigal son to priest

Radio Interview: Books and Authors: Inspiring Trailblazers

Future priest from Congo has a heart of service

Sister Joan Minella, former principal and pastoral life director, dies

Archbishop Lori offers encouragement to charitable agencies affected by federal cuts

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • High court sends Catholic groups’ challenge to N.Y. abortion-coverage mandate back to state courts
  • Religious Liberty Commission examines imperiled Native American sacred site, mandatory reporter law
  • As ‘new nightmare’ unfolds between Israel and Iran, ‘never-ending tragedy’ in Gaza continues
  • Thank you to a one-of-a-kind teacher
  • Pope asks Italian bishops to proclaim the Gospel, teach peace
  • Pope Leo XIV will escape Rome’s heat in July by going to papal villa
  • Almost half of U.S. adults have Catholic connection, but Mass makes significant difference in Catholic identity
  • Prodigal son to priest
  • U.S. bishop calls for ardent prayer, diplomacy as Israel-Iran strikes continue

Search

Membership

Catholic Media Assocation

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2025 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED