Saturday, April 16, 2011

Cork dialogue on the priest shortage

The Pastoral Development Office in the Diocese of Cork & Ross has issued an invitation to parishes and pastoral areas to engage in a planning process to meet the challenge of the dramatic decline in the number of priests in the diocese.

In 1995 about 154 priests worked in the parishes of Cork and Ross. 

Today that figure stands at 103, and by next year, 20 of those priests will have reached the age of retirement.

Over two years ago Bishop John Buckley organised the diocese into 16 pastoral areas to foster greater co-operation and to explore how parishes might work more closely together. 

The diocese is now inviting parishes to make recommendations as to how they think the diocese should deal with the fall in the number of priests, and the very real prospect of each pastoral area losing at least one priest within a couple of years.

As part of this process the pastoral areas have been asked to propose an agreed reduced schedule of Sunday Masses that could be implemented by January 2012.