We now post a set of decrees issued by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield Massachusetts, mostly in 2008 and 2009. The decrees were issued by then-diocesan bishop Timothy A. McDonnell to close a number of parishes in the diocese, and to relegate churches to profane but not sordid use (the canonical term for a church’s permanent closure.) These decrees will be referenced in upcoming posts; we felt it important that copies of the decrees mentioned in these future articles also be present on this site, so that any reader who wishes to can easily find and examine them.