Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury is to launch a fundraising appeal to support evangelisation and the training of priests. In his pastoral letter for Lent, to be read out at Masses on Sunday, Bishop Davies said the appeal would fund “pastoral and missionary goals, including the training of a new generation of priests; the formation of lay catechists; the creation of a youth mission team; and efforts to promote and support the vocation to marriage and to develop the social mission of the Church”. The bishop said the diocese would also be taking “a fresh look at our planning for the parishes of the future”. In his letter Bishop Davies said: “I am sometimes asked whether it is my plan to close parishes. I would suggest this is the wrong question to ask. The real question is surely this: how can we continue our mission in every part of the diocese? I hope we will always be realistic enough to recognise situations where we can no longer sustain a parish structure or a church building. However, it has never been my wish to see parishes close. Indeed, it has been a great joy as your bishop to celebrate Mass in every parish, and to see how the Church’s mission continues through your faithfulness.” The last closure in the diocese was that of St Raphael’s in Stalybridge in 2011. Otherwise the diocese has been able to avoid the large-scale closures affecting other dioceses in the north. The bishop said: “I am certain that, at this moment in history, we face a choice: either to be weighed down by problems, and there will always be problems until the end of time, or to recognise anew the abundance of grace given us now to accomplish our mission.” Last week the bishop called on Catholics to “re-propose” marriage to young people. At a Mass in celebration of marriage and family life at St Columba’s, Chester, he said: “I ask you to speak boldly of the beauty of marriage, especially to the young. "Tell them of the grace given you, and of the faithfulness which God makes possible in your lives. Speak of how you have been called in the sacrament of marriage to a love and self-giving beyond your own weaknesses. This is the Good News many are waiting to hear! Marriage is a sacrament by which God’s grace makes it possible for ordinary men and women in the love and faithfulness of family lives.”