Bishop Arthur Roche of Leeds has announced a programme of church mergers and closures that will cut the number of parishes in his diocese almost by half.
The plans, revealed in a pastoral letter last week, follow two years of consultation and are an attempt to respond to shrinking congregations and a falling number of priests.
They will reduce the number of parishes in the diocese from 28 to 16 and leave eight churches vacant.
In his pastoral letter Bishop Roche said it was "never easy" to announce church closures.
