We’re presenting more and more topics that you suggest to us. That’s the case on Wednesday, when we take up a suggestion by a listener named Jenny and talk about the fate of some of our rural parishes. We’ll let Jenny herself set up the topic:

I heard that you take show topic ideas? If so, I have one. There is an epidemic of small town, rural parishes that are financially solvent and pillars in the community that are closing because of the lack of priests. Dioceses across the midwest and northeast are particularly affected. My parish is one of those that are on the potential closure list. Whereas the bishops are doing what they feel they need to do, the concern is that since the rural parishes are smaller, they do not matter. It seems a numbers game rather than a souls game. Jesus tells us to go to the ends of the earth. That also means to the ends of the cornfields, too.