The Catholic Church is to radically overhaul its parish structure nationwide in a bid to ease pressure on Ireland's shrinking and ageing pool of priests. Bishops are being forced to cope with a 'trinity' of serious challenges -- vastly reduced vocations, a falling number of priests and the rapidly ageing profile of those in service.
Now, a number of Ireland's 26 dioceses are to roll out parish reviews which are aimed at significantly reducing the workload on clergy -- and enhancing the community and laity involvement in church operations.
The review is also to ease the mounting pressure on diocesan clergy and allow them focus on three key duties -- the Eucharist, Confession and Annointing of the Sick.
In the Diocese of Cork and Ross their existing 68 parishes, which cater for almost 250,000 Catholics, will be revised into 16 pastoral zones -- and there will be radical changes to Mass times, priest availability and parish duties.
Key changes, which will be mirrored in other dioceses nationwide, will include:
- A rota system for priests on call.
- Staggered Mass times to allow priests, if necessary, to cover several parishes while on call.
- Greater involvement of laity in pastoral duties.
- Rosters for school, club, hospital and social duties.
- Greater involvement of laity in non-sacramental Church functions.
- Dedicated administrators to ease the bureaucratic burden on parish priests.
Ireland witnessed a 5pc decline in diocesan priest numbers nationwide between 1981 (3,762) and 1995 (3,659).
However, the past decade has witnessed an alarming drop in the number of diocesan priests -- down almost 19pc nationwide to 3078 priests in 2006.
Figures for 2007 are still being compiled but are expected to show a continued decline in clergy numbers.
In 1981, Ireland had 176 male vocations -- but in 2006 there were just 30 men training for the priesthood.
But most worrying for the Church hierarchy is the rapidly "greying" profile of diocesan priests.
In the 1950s, Ireland had one of the youngest age profiles of Catholic clergy anywhere in the world. Now, one diocese is expected to have just six priests aged under 45 by 2012.
Three years ago, the Bishop of Cork & Ross, Dr John Buckley, launched the "Pilgrim Steps" plan with the admission that the Church faces new challenges in the modern Ireland -- not least the need to maximise efficiency and co-operation given the rapidly ageing profile of the clergy.
Cork & Ross ranks as one of Ireland's biggest geographic dioceses, with 68 parishes and 118 churches -- but, crucially, one-in-four of Cork's 118 priests are already aged 65 or over.
More than half the priests with full-time appointments in Cork are now over 55 years old.
In launching the plan, Dr Buckley insisted that the Church's need to adapt was nothing new -- with the faith having responded to different challenges over two millennia.
Cultures
"The Church has always adapted to changing cultures, whether it is 5th Century Ireland, 16th Century South America or 20th Century Africa. The reality is that there is no culture that is impervious to the Gospel," Dr Buckley explained.
"We are challenged to find new pathways for our pilgrim journey -- new ways of communicating the faith to young and old, new structures that will enable us to make Christ present in the home and in the marketplace," Dr Buckley declared.
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