THE FIRST regional meeting of the newly established Association of
Catholic Priests took place at the Curam Centre in Claremorris, Co
Mayo, Tuesday afternoon.
Over 300 priests attended the inaugural
meeting of the association in Portlaoise on September 15th.
The three
founder-priests, Fr Brendan Hoban, Fr Seán McDonagh and Fr Tony
Flannery, have said all priests are welcome.
The meetings aim “to
spread the association, and give other priests, who may not have been
able to attend the inaugural meeting in Portlaoise, a chance to get
involved”.
They wanted “to give priests a chance to express their
concerns and their ideas on how this association might operate and the
issues it should deal with”, as well as “to give the leadership a chance
to listen to what priests have to say”.
The association
originated from a meeting in Athlone on June 23rd and arose from what Fr
Hoban, parish priest in Ballina, Co Mayo, described as the “need for
some light in what often appears as an enveloping darkness around
priesthood”.
A further meeting will be held on November 9th at the
Charleville Park Hotel in Charleville, Co Cork, also at 2.30pm.
And in
the Dublin archdiocese, there will be a meeting on November 24th, in the
Marianella Centre on Orwell Road, Rathgar, at 3pm.
SIC: IT/IE