Almost a quarter of Irish dioceses are now awaiting the appointment
of a new bishop, fuelling speculation that the Pope may be poised to
dramatically cut the number of dioceses.
Bishop of Kerry Dr Bill Murphy became the latest to submit his
resignation upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75 on June 6.
Six dioceses are now awaiting a new leader.
Limerick, Cloyne and
Kildare and Leighlin are all vacant after their respective bishops
resigned after coming under pressure over allegations of mishandling of
abuse.
Bishop Colm O'Reilly of Ardagh and Clonmacnois submitted his
retirement in January 2010, while Bishop Christopher Jones of Elphin
sent his resignation in March this year.
It is thought to be the greatest number of Irish dioceses that have
been pending appointments in living memory.
Several auxiliary bishops
who retired have also not been replaced.
In the wake of the abuse scandals there have been calls, notably from
theologian Fr Vincent Twomey SVD, to dramatically cut the number of
Irish dioceses in a bid to overcome unwieldy bureaucracy that many
people believe contributed to the mismanagement of abuse.
Fr Twomey has pointed out that with a Catholic population of some
4.39m Ireland has 26 dioceses, just one less than Germany with a
Catholic population of over 30m.
''This means, in simple terms, that we
do not have the critical mass of priests suited for high office,'' he
said.
Merging of DiocesesIn time to come, given the current position and opportunity now presenting itself, word is going round that the following may occur with some of the Irish Diocesan boundaries:
* Killala (+Fleming to Limerick to replace +Murray) & Achonry to merge with +Kelly in charge of the united dioceses
* Cloyne (currently administered by +Clifford) & Cork & Ross to merge with +Buckley to be in charge of these united dioceses
* Diocese of Clonfert to be divided amongst Archdiocese of Tuam, Diocese of Galway and also Diocese of Elphin or in what would be more considered is to merge it into Diocese of Killaloe in totality
* Ardagh & Clonmacnoise could be subsumed into the surrounding Dioceses of Kilmore, Elphin and Achonry
Watch this space!!