One in ten Anglican ministers come from Catholic backgrounds, according to the Church of Ireland Archbishop of the Dublin, Dr John Neill. And three per cent of ministers in the Dublin diocese were formerly Catholic priests, The Irish Catholic has learned.
Archbishop Neill said about 10% of the 100 active clergy in his diocese of Dublin and Glendalough were from a Catholic background with no previous links to the Protestant community, a figure, he said, which was ''equally and consistently'' represented among those in training for ordination.
This phenomenon, Archbishop Neill said, would have the effect of reducing ''tribalism'' in the Church of Ireland.
''Although tribalism is not a word that we relish as members of the Church of Ireland - there was tribalism among us, particularly in rural areas (perhaps we might call it defensive tribalism), and in other areas where the Church of Ireland could be tribal through strength of numbers (we might call it complacent tribalism) - but this is changing.''
Archbishop Neill said this growing proportion of former Catholics and migrants in the Church of Ireland would ''mould a different Church'' over time. ''They share none of the prejudices, customs or memories of the 'tribe'.''
The bishop was speaking at the launch of a book which showed the Church of Ireland population has increased by over 46% since 1991 from 82,840 to 121,229 reversing a long term decline.
Counting the People of God showed the increase is mostly accounted for by immigrants and followed a decline from every census since 1861 when the total was almost 360,000.
The increase over 15 years in certain small towns had been ''quite remarkable'' according to the author Malcolm Macourt.
In Ennis, the Church of Ireland population increased from 68 to 400, in Navan from 111 to 541 and in Newbridge from 91 to 402.
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(Source: IC)