THE PRESIDENT of St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, Msgr Hugh Connolly, yesterday denied media speculation the college may shortly be closed.
Responding
to a report in this week’s Irish Catholic which claims that the
Vatican’s apostolic visitors will recommend that all Irish seminarians
be moved to the pontifical Irish College in Rome, Msgr Connolly said:
“There are 72 men studying for the priesthood in Maynooth, making us the
largest seminary on these islands and one of the largest in Europe.
Media reports today about the possible closure of the seminary are
without foundations. Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth is a vibrant centre of seminary formation and theological research.”
He
went on to say that Maynooth “is confident of its contribution to the
future of the church in Ireland”, while adding that the recent apostolic
visitation called for by Pope Benedict XVI had been a “positive and
affirming experience for the whole college community”.
Irishmen have prepared for the priesthood at Maynooth since 1795.
The
Irish Catholic had suggested the possible closure would be prompted by
“concerns about falling academic standards”. In particular, it claimed
that New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan, who led the apostolic
visitation, was concerned about the orthodoxy of the theology being
taught at Maynooth.
In future, the Irish Catholic claimed, all
Irish seminarians will be moved to a “reformed and restructured” Irish
College in Rome which would reduce its intake of non-Irish students to
make room for the Maynooth seminarians.
Commentators point out
that such a move would not be entirely without precedent since the
Catholic Church in Scotland has closed seminaries in Glasgow and in
Salamanca, Spain, obliging all Scottish seminarians to study at the
pontifical Scottish College in Rome.
Vatican sources, while
acknowledging that the Holy See has been concerned about Maynooth for
some time now, suggested the transfer of all seminarians to Rome seemed
an “unlikely” recommendation.
Were Irish students to do all their
preparation for the priesthood outside of Ireland, they would risk
losing touch with the Irish church in which they would later be called
to ministry.
The apostolic visitors are expected to file their recommendations to Pope Benedict sometime in the coming months.