Readers reacted to the merger of Tamaqua's two Catholic churches:

Candy Moyer: "This breaks my heart. My entire family has been lifelong members of St. Jerome's. Hate to see the name changed for either church. There is tradition to all who have gone there."Rose Marie Inama: "Just like St. Bartholomew in Brockton and it is heartbreaking. The bottom line is there is nothing you can do or say to make it different."Theresa Murphy: "If the people that only attend Mass on Christmas and Easter would attend all year long, support the church and become more involved, there would be no reason to merge churches and change names. It starts with the parishioners."Patty Bernadyn: "Well, Father Linkchorst is retiring this year and there is not enough priests to put a new one in the church. Yes, people need to go to church and support the churches but I think this is in all religions, people don't always see the need. That is why the world is in such sad shape."Vince Suzadail Jr.: "It is about time all Christian churches unite. We all worship the same person. Also, the scholars then can finally put their minds together and take some of our archaic teachings out of the Dark Ages and reinforce the teachings of Christ."Joe Yesavage: "When the churches were closed in Schuylkill Township many people walked away from the church and never returned. To this date many do not belong to a parish or attend Mass. I changed from Roman Rite to Byzantine and now I go to church a half a block from where I went to St. Bart's."Cheryl Humes: "These are very difficult changes for church communities based on the reality of diminishing coffers and fewer regular attenders; however, the church is the community of faith, not the buildings. The challenge is to overcome our sentiment about the potential loss of a building where many of our most meaningful life moments have happened."