Parishes in the Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnois need to prepare for a future without parish priests, Bishop Francis Duffy has warned. In a letter entitled ‘Sustaining our Faith Community’, Dr Duffy said while the diocese currently has 53 clergy serving its 41 parishes, by the time children baptised this year are confirmed the diocese is likely to have just 25 active clergy, given the diocese’s current lack of seminarians.
“From both a pastoral and a duty of care perspective, it is important that responsibilities our clergy now carry are shared with parishioners even more so than at present,” he said, stressing that with a need to focus on the Sunday Eucharist as the heart of the Church’s life, consideration should be given to enabling parish faith development and pastoral care to flourish with fewer priests and greater involvement of parishioners.
“This is not about closing churches but about reimagining how we worship and pass on our Christian faith,” he said.