Dioceses north of border have just 279 ‘deployable’ clergy

Research by a priest suggests there are just 279 deployable diocesan clergy in Scotland, writes Brian Morton.

The figure, which does not include religious priests, was arrived at by carefully examining the priestly statistics of all the Scottish dioceses.

Fr Michael Conry, a parish priest in the Archdiocese of Glasgow, then worked out a concept of “deployability” by examining age, health, mobility and availability. According to Fr Conroy’s research, there were 41 Scottish ordinations in the 1960s, 59 in the 1970s, 73 in the 1980s, 55 in the 1990 and just 38 in the first decade of this century. Fr Conroy was ordained in 1974.

As a result he says the Church in Scotland is “built upon” the priests ordained in the 1980s who are often managing two or three assignments. A qualified psychotherapist, Fr Conroy said he is worried about “denial, distortion and displacement” among clergy and laity about the situation.

Scottish Catholic Directory figures show there are 354 active diocesan priests, 137 religious priests and 25 seminarians.