STEUBENVILLE — A proposed merger with the Diocese of Columbus is back on the table, Diocese of Steubenville officials confirmed Monday.

Bishop Paul J. Bradley, apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Steubenville, said in a joint news release they’d been tasked by the Apostolic Nunciature, the Vatican’s diplomatic arm, with working together to “consider how different dimensions of the dioceses, including the temporal aspects of life, might be affected by such a proposal.”

He said the talks are in a “very preliminary” stage and he doesn’t expect a final decision before summer.

When that decision is made, he said it will be Pope Francis himself who makes it.

“(We) were asked to undertake an in-depth study of the life of both dioceses,” Bradley said, “especially with a focus on the temporal aspects, and to gather that information so that that it can be sent on to Rome where the Holy Father, of course, will be the one who makes any final decisions.”

Former Diocese of Steubenville Bishop Jeffrey Monforton belatedly told parishioners and clergy last year that he’d been quietly exploring the possibility of a merger, arguing that the diocese would “be on life support” within the decade unless they address its aging population, struggling local economy and declining attendance. It was met with widespread resistance within the diocese, culminating in a rally outside the chancery offices led by priests, nuns and Catholic community leaders, and ultimately pushed Monforton to ask the U.S. Conference of Bishops to take it off their agenda.

As far as the Vatican is concerned, that decision was delayed but the discussion has not ended.

“Since the question had been raised before, really an answer had to be found,” Bradley said. “I think … this study is going to contribute to that answer.”

He said the discussions a year ago focused more on financials, “and while finances are, of course, very important, it’s not the only determining factor.

This study is broadening that out and looking at all the important aspects of the life of the diocese.”

While there’s no denying the decline in population within the Diocese of Steubenville’s boundaries, Bradley said officials also have to consider the “great vitality of faith in the people who are here.”

“There would have to be clear indicators (that) it’s going to strengthen everybody’s faith and pastoral care and sacramental life,” he said. “It would have to be for that benefit, so I think those are the kinds of questions that we’d be looking at.”

He stressed no decisions have been made, adding that the discussions currently in progress are “for the purpose of gathering information, so that a good decision can be made.”

Bradley said he thinks the local Catholic community was blindsided when reports surfaced a year ago that Monforton had been quietly exploring a merger.

“It came as such a surprise to everybody involved,” he said. “I don’t expect there would be the same kind of controversy now. Are there going to be people who say, ‘Well, I don’t think we need to do this at all?’ We’ll probably hear that, but on the other hand it has been determined that we need to do this (study) and so we’re gonna’ go through it in the most transparent way possible and with the idea that whatever the outcome is, it is ultimately going to be for the good of the church.”

Bradley said it will likely take the two dioceses three or four months to complete their assessment of the impact of a merger, but “the work has begun, and as the work continues, updates will be provided.”