Discussions are underway about the future of a closed Catholic church in Lansford.

In recent weeks, chatter about St. Ann's Catholic Church soon being demolished was working its way through the Panther Valley.Matt Kerr, secretary of external affairs for the Diocese of Allentown, confirmed that there are talks between the parish and the diocese about demolishing the 104-year-old structure that now has become a house for birds and plant growth on its steeple."The building, which has been vacant for seven years, is in disrepair," Kerr said via email this week. "Efforts to sell the building over those seven years were not successful."Kerr added that no demolition contract has been awarded at this time and no timeline as to when the demolition will take place has been set at this time.St. Ann's Rectory, which is located next to the church, was sold in 2013 and is now privately owned, Kerr said.St. Ann's is one of 47 churches in the diocese that closed in 2008 after the diocese began consolidations due to the anticipated shortage of priests.The congregation merged with the parishes of SS. Peter and Paul and St. Michael the Archangel in Lansford, as well as St. John the Baptist, St. Mary's and SS. Cyril and Methodius in Coaldale to become St. Katharine Drexel in the former St. Michael's church.Since then, the diocese has demolished a few of the churches after efforts to sell the buildings were unsuccessful. SS. Peter and Paul in Lansford, St. Stanislaus in Summit Hill and Sacred Heart in Nesquehoning have all already been razed.In 2009, the body of the Rev. Leo Fahey, who was buried on St. Ann's grounds in 1919, was exhumed and reinterred at Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Jim Thorpe.