PORTLAND (AP) – Roman Catholic Bishop Richard Malone has completed the appointment of a committee to help guide the church’s future in Maine, the Diocese of Portland announced Friday.

Malone appointed four clergy, two nuns and 10 laypeople from Fort Kent to Biddeford to a panel that will help to establish a plan for realigning and reinvigorating parishes, officials said.

The panel will draft a plan that recognizes driving forces affecting the church’s ministry. Those include population shifts within the state and a decline in number of active priests.

The committee aims to make recommendations to the bishop by next January.

Some changes may be implemented next year, but most of the goals will be longer in range, diocese spokeswoman Sue Bernard.

AP-ES-06-11-04 1351EDT