The Tribune

By LETRE SWEETING

Tribune Staff Reporter

lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE Catholic Church’s partnership with the government to run the Nazareth Centre will end this month, according to State Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Myles Laroda.

He said a new operating partner for the centre will be onboard “shortly”.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese ran the Nazareth Centre, one of the Department of Social Services’ residential care facilities for children, for over 20 years.

Mr Laroda said the government was discussing the centre’s future with two other groups.

“These are troubling times,” Mr Laroda said, explaining why the Catholic Church ended the partnership. “These are tough times financially, and the pie is only so big for every institution, and while we are sad or disappointed that the Catholic Church has made that decision, we understand that theirs is a work that affects different areas of society. So we’d like to move forward in selecting an entity and be in a position to serve those individuals affected at the Nazareth Centre.”