Irish priests warn of eucharistic famine as vocations collapse

The Irish hierarchy is in denial about the critical shortage of priests and the collapse in vocations, according to the Association of Catholic Priests in Ireland.

The association is calling for the ordination of married men of proven character (viri probati), the ordination of women as deacons, and for men who left the priesthood to marry to be invited back. The priests’ association fears the practice of clustering, where priests have to serve more than one parish, will overburden an ageing and declining priesthood.

The Irish Bishops’ Conference debated the association’s pro­po­sals last month but stood by its current strategy of clustering and restated the Church’s teaching on mandatory clerical celibacy.

The Bishop of Raphoe, Philip Boyce, said in a letter on behalf of the bishops that the proposals, in view of the celibacy discipline, were “not feasible”.

Fr Sean McDonagh, spokesman for the association, responded by accusing the ­bishops of being “quite irresponsible” in their dismissal. “Our question is: which is more ­important, the Eucharist or the discipline of celibacy?” He warned: “There will be a eucharistic famine in a short period of time. The situation will get worse as priests get older.”

He also described the newly ordained Bishop of Elphin, Kevin Doran, appealing for each deanery in his diocese to find a candidate for the priesthood by next Easter as “unrealistic”.

Recently Pope Francis appeared to recognise the problem when he was reported to have told Eugenio Scalfari of La Repubblica, in an interview published last weekend: “This needs time but there are solutions and I will find them.”

The Vatican denied that this was what the Pope actually said, but Fr McDonagh said this was an “absolute vindication” for the association’s position which recognises an issue with celibacy.