Ireland’s bishops have been accused of a lacklustre attitude towards
fostering priestly vocations by a leading vocations director. In a stinging letter to the bishops of Ireland, Vocations Director for the Irish Dominicans, Fr Ger Dunne, OP said: “Twenty new seminarians for Ireland’s almost 4 million Catholics is no cause for rejoicing.”
Fr Dunne accused the Irish bishops of failing to carry out their primary duty of promoting the priesthood and the sacredness of that vocation.
“In many years of observing how you carry out this mission, I have become very disheartened at your efforts,” Fr Dunne told the bishops.
“With some notable exceptions, it is rare to find a bishop speak about vocations in a positive and authentic way - as a means of planting the seed in the minds of the young and not so young that they too could be called to serve God as priests, brothers, nuns and sisters.
“What's even more discouraging is the fact that when some bishops do take the opportunity to speak about vocations - their words can have a very negative impact and create uncertainty in the minds of potential candidates,” he said.
Fr Dunne also said the bishops had failed to take advantage of developments in social media which could present “a real opportunity to engage in a creative and imaginative way with potential recruits”.
“Very few dioceses have a vocational presence on the internet and fewer still are engaged in social media,” Fr Dunne said.
“Any young man or woman today will use these tools as a first port of call to find out information about vocation. The internet and social media are a cheap and cost effective way of promoting vocations and indeed preaching,” he said.
According to Fr Dunne, bishops have “a duty to foster and encourage vocations to priesthood and religious life – and we desperately need [them] to show leadership on this issue now more than ever”.
“The future of the Church in Ireland depends on you,” he told the bishops.