Villanova And Camden Diocese Team Up And Offer Online Master's In Church Management
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The Diocese of Camden is teaming up with Villanova University to offer an online master's degree program for lay Catholics and priests alike in church management.
Call this a concession of sorts to the times the church finds itself in. You have to be able to keep the lights on and minister to the people with shrinking attendance and dwindling resources.
Consolidating parishes only gets you so far says Dr. Charles Zech, who directs the program at Villanova, "You can go to a lot of places to learn management skills but learning them in a faith-based context doesn't always happen. So we work real hard to make sure that does happen."
The Camden Diocese will get a 50 percent discount on the $25,000 tuition for the two-year, 30 credit master's program, which includes a week on Villanova's main line campus.
The diocese will cover a third, a sponsoring parish a third with the last third covered by the student.
Reported By David Madden, KYW Newsradio.
