Lack of vocations tops bishops’ agenda

VOCATIONS ARE a top priority for the Church in Ireland, according to the newly elected president of the Irish Bishops’ Conference, writes Sarah Mac Donald.

Speaking of his concern at the shortage of priests and its consequences for parishes, Archbishop Eamon Martin told a press conference following the autumn general meeting of the bishops that he was “very happy to dialogue with anyone” concerned about the problem. He said the meeting considered how to encourage vocations among young people.

“These are issues of concern to the bishops and priests,” he said, indicating a new willingness to engage with the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP).

Archbishop Martin said he was in conversation with priests in Armagh about their well-being and their increased workload resulting from the drop in the number of priests.

Last week the ACP warned that the shortage of priests in Ireland could result in priests marrying several couples at the same time and holding multiple funerals.

“We could even be looking at having funeral Masses where there are up to 10 coffins in the church at the same time,” Fr Brendan Hoban, a founder of the ACP, said.

Meanwhile, the ACP at its AGM in Athlone rejected clustering parishes as a solution to the shortage of priests, describing it as “a short-term managerial strategy to cope with – or to pretend we’re coping with – the decline in priest numbers”.