Bishop Edward Lohse, apostolic administrator of the Catholic Diocese of Steubenville, spoke from between photos of Pope Francis, left, and Pope Benedict XVI during Tuesday’s press conference in the diocese’s pastoral center. (Photo by Christopher Dacanay, Special to the News and Sentinel)

STEUBENVILLE — The Catholic Diocese of Steubenville’s apostolic administrator on Tuesday released a report on the state of the diocese, raising concerns about long-term viability and questioning the best path forward.

During a press conference in the diocese’s pastoral center, Bishop Edward Lohse highlighted significant findings from his much-anticipated self-study, which he’s worked on with diocesan consultors, who constitute a subcommittee of the diocese’s presbyteral council; the diocesan finance council; administrators; and priests.

Serving as the bishop of the Diocese of Kalamazoo, Mich., Lohse was appointed June 14 by Pope Francis as the Steubenville diocese’s temporary overseer, tasked with completing the discernment process that could result in a merger with a neighboring diocese.

The report, which can be viewed at diosteub.org, is not a decision on the diocese’s future, Lohse said, and such a decision has yet to be made. However, he added, the report’s contents will undoubtedly contribute to a final determination.

“The faith in this diocese is strong. That needs to be said,” Lohse remarked. “There is much to be proud of. At the same time, we see the predicted decreases in the diocese’s general population and its Catholic population as the single greatest challenge to the diocese’s future. We are concerned that, if nothing is done, these decreases and the accompanying decrease in the donor base will lead to deficit spending and financial instability. The consulters and I believe that the diocese is viable at present, but the future is far less certain.”

Some of the diocese’s difficulties are rooted in its establishment in 1944 as a mission diocese, Lohse said, meaning it has struggled with resources since its inception. He added that a missionary spirit continues to flourish in the diocese.

The once-vibrant region’s economic downturn cannot be ignored, the bishop said. The faithful of the diocese are deeply committed, but many fear potentially losing their diocesan identity through a merger. Lohse noted the clergy’s strong missionary zeal and loyalty to the diocese.

“Among both lay faithful and clergy, there has been a certain mistrust of this process,” he said. “Many have felt the decisions affecting their lives have been and are being made without their input. And the lack of transparency up to this point has been harmful. I hope that our efforts today begin to reverse that.”

The diocese has faced financial struggles, Lohse said, including the discovery of financial mismanagement in 2018, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Financial management reforms, spending cuts and other factors have left the diocese on a “stronger financial footing than in recent years,” with the diocese’s net assets and liabilities increasing to $19.8 million in 2024 from the previous year’s $18.2 million.

On the negative side, the shuttered Holy Name Cathedral presents few options other than demolition, he said. Furthermore, the diocese’s budget might be balanced, but it’s only able to sustain basic services. To remain as a separate entity, the diocese would need “a more robust budget to support pastoral growth and vitality. This would require additional funding that the diocese does not currently have,” Lohse said.

Between 1980 and 2022, the general population of the diocese’s 13 counties has decreased 13.4%t, Lohse said, adding there has been a 46.5% decrease in Catholic population in the same timeframe.

As stated in the report, the Ohio Department of Development projects that five of those counties (Athens, Carroll, Gallia, Guernsey and Noble) will experience a population decline of between 10% and 20% in the next 25 years, and the other eight (Belmont, Harrison, Jefferson, Lawrence, Meigs, Morgan, Monroe and Washington) will lose between 20% and 30% of their population. Lohse called those statistics sobering.

“Given that there are presently only around 29,000 Catholics in the diocese and that, in recent decades, the Catholic population has been decreasing at a rate more than three times that of the general population, these figures suggest a very problematic road ahead,” Lohse quoted from his report.

Mentioning points of pride for the diocese, Lohse said Steubenville’s ratio of priests to faithful trumps all other Ohio dioceses, and the ratio of seminarians to faithful is the fourth highest nationwide. The diocese is also home to numerous religious institutes for men and women and other entities that are canonically distinct from the diocese, the most notable being Franciscan University of Steubenville.

“(The report) mentions that Franciscan University and other similar apostolates have attracted young families to this area,” Lohse said. “That has helped to slow the decline, but it cannot prevent it.”

Lohse said the diocese functions well administratively despite service limitations from years of cost-reduction efforts. Providing the faithful with the full range of diocesan services would require restoring development efforts, rolling out Catholic charity services in all counties and expansion of the annual appeal and planned giving.

The diocese is left with two questions, he said: Is it better to merge or remain free-standing to provide necessities for the faith to flourish, and if there appears to be no long-term viability, should a merger happen now or when the diocese is no longer viable?

Lohse concluded with a personal note, saying the diocese can be justifiably proud of its accomplishments throughout the past 80 years. However, there are significant problems coming down the road, and the faithful must hold fast to their faith, the sacraments — particularly the eucharist – and their baptismal call to discipleship.

“As for the future of the diocese, we will follow wherever the Lord leads, not because it’s easy – which it isn’t – but because it is right. Wherever he leads, we will travel that path together, strengthened by a hope that does not disappoint,” he said.

Lohse said he has been given a timeline for completing the merger discernment process, which is “not delineated in church law.” Providing accurate information through the report is an important step in the process.

The report will likely be considered by the bishops of Ohio, who Lohse said must try their best prayerfully to consider the questions and pose a recommendation for the diocese’s future. Recommendations to modify a diocese would normally go before the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Lohse said, noting that could happen in November at the earliest.