Over 800 people attended the recent series of Listening Sessions held at ten different locations by the Diocese of Ossory it has been revealed. The sessions were organised to invite people to express their feelings as members of the church in the aftermath of the Ryan and Murphy Reports and Pope Benedict's letter to Catholics of Ireland following those reports.
According to a summary report compiled after all the sessions, which were attended personally by the Bishop of Ossory Dr Seamus Freeman, the views ranged from anger at the handling of clerical / religious abuse by the Catholic hierarchy, to appreciation for the work of local priests at parish level.
Views criticising the lack of lay involvement in the church were also expressed.
A document summarising the findings from the listening sessions has been published on the Ossory diocesan website, www.ossory.ie.
According to the document, “there is a very strong sense of frustration and disappointment that the vision of Vatican II, with its promise of much more lay involvement has not been realised in many parishes.”
Bishop Freeman has now asked the Pastoral Councils of the Diocese to consider the document and to suggest some practical priorities for the diocese.
SIC: CIN