Full inclusion of women ‘priority’ in Cashel and Emly

In a raft of future plans, the inclusion of women in leadership roles “as equal members of the Church” will be one of the key priorities for the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly.

A four-year listening process aimed at moving towards a Church that will better serve the people and communities of the archdiocese was unwrapped on Sunday, with the launch of the diocesan pastoral plan, ‘Seeds of Hope’.

One of the aims of the plan is: “The inclusion of women in leadership roles as equal members of the Church is a priority into the future. Women must be enabled to fulfil their role in developing the mission of the Church.”

Archbishop Kieran O’Relly said: “Like any organisation, whether it is business, sporting or community organisation, you cannot operate without a plan. The need for a plan is very important in this time of change in our world, change in our society, change in our Church, change in so many different ways.

“This plan is a pathway into the future that the Church together, laity and priests, will be on over the coming years. The launching of the Seeds of Hope pastoral plan coincides with the beginning of the journey towards a national synod of the Church in Ireland. The archdiocese is now in an excellent position to participate fully in the synodal process.”

The plan was led by the Diocesan Pastoral Council made up of lay women and men and clergy and engaged with each of the archdiocese’s 46 parishes – 35 in Tipperary and 11 in Limerick.

There are five ‘Seeds of Hope’ according to the archdiocese: faith and spirituality, youth and family, community engagement, participation in liturgy and leadership and co-responsibility.