Radical overhaul of major diocese announced in plan to help parishes cope with dwindling number of priests – Independent.ie

ONE of Ireland's biggest dioceses has introduced a radical new structure of 'faith-centred communities' in a bid to cope with the challenges of the increased demands facing rapidly ageing clerics and the reduced numbers of young people attending Church ceremonies.

ishop of Cork and Ross, Dr Fintan Gavin, unveiled a new structure which will divide the sprawling diocese into 16 'families of parishes' and aim to increase and enhance the involvement of lay personnel in Church operations in a bid to ease the workload on elderly clerics.

The Diocese of Cork and Ross - one of the largest geographic dioceses in the Irish Church - will celebrate the ordination of one new priest in September.

However, 12 clerics - many aged over 70 years - are scheduled to step-aside from their former responsibilities.

Its 69 parishes will now operate under a streamlined structure of 16 designed areas.

Dr Gavin published a special pastoral letter outlining the radical plan - and the blueprint is now expected to be adopted by other Irish dioceses which are facing similar challenges at parish level.

"It is important to be aware that this picture is not unique to our diocese, but is replicated throughout Ireland, Europe and indeed in most parts of the Western World," he said.

"It is part of a much larger societal change which we cant control.

In fact, the challenges we face are similar to the challenges being faced by big institutions throughout the western world.

"We need to acknowledge these huge changes and the sense of loss we feel for times past. We need to allow ourselves to grieve, acknowledging this loss and the pain associated with it."

The bishop warned that radical new approaches were required to guide the Church into the future.

New structures will come into operation from September across Cork - with 12 'families of parishes' in the first phase.

A key aim will be encouraging young people back into active Church involvement, increasing lay personnel duties and efficiently managing the workload of clerics, many of whom are now elderly.

"People have often said to me: 'You have a very difficult job ahead of you, Bishop.' A system that served well in the past is crumbling," he said.

"In the past, the local community was also the faith community where going to Mass was the place where you met everyone, young and old.

Many parents and grandparents now express sadness that their own children no longer practise their faith or seem interested in Church matters."

Under the new structure, the diocese will have 16 'families of parishes' - and each will be administered by a team of priests.

Each priest will be resident in a particular parish but ministering across the whole family of parishes.

"Bringing parishes together as families of parishes presents an opportunity for much greater lay participation and shared leadership of parishes," he said.

A key aim is to maximise efficiency and ease the workload on ageing clerics.

"Initially, the team will consist of priests but I hope that lay leadership and more involvement will grow in time. It will involve parishes working much more closely together and sharing their gifts, talents and resources including their priests."

Dr Gavin said the new structure was developed following his arrival as bishop in June 2019 and involved multiple visits to individual parishes.

"I got a sense of a very strong faith tradition, built up over many years, of which parish communities were rightly proud," he said.

"Many things are working well in parishes: choirs, altar servers, funeral teams and so much more. Unfortunately, those visits to parishes had to be paused because of the pandemic and could only start again when it was possible to do so safely."

But he said it was clear the Church faced challenges at diocesan level to get greater numbers of young people involved.

"Many lamented the fact that large numbers of our young people are not present in our churches on Sundays. At the recent CONNECT event for young adults, the loudest message of these young adults was how isolated and alone they feel at times at Sunday Mass because most of the people there are much older. The link between our parish schools and our parish faith community is weaker than in the past."

Dr Gavin said that while it was wonderful to see so many young people involved in First Communion and Confirmation ceremonies, it was "disheartening" to see how few then continued to actually participate in the faith.

A further challenge was the rapidly ageing profile of clerics within the Diocese of Cork & Ross as well as other Irish dioceses.

"There is an awareness that our priests are getting older and fewer young men are choosing to become priests, Dr Gavin said.

"This was expressed in the November priests gatherings when we reflected on what was described as the 'predictable future.' Some spoke of the imminent retirement of more priests in an already tight situation which for priests might mean more work, ageing, poor health and a fear of burn-out, a fear of being further stretched."

While Cork & Ross will get one new young priest in September, 12 priests are scheduled to retire.

"While a small number will continue to help out as assistant priests, most have understandably decided they would prefer to retire fully from their appointments, he said.

"In addition, a number of religious provincials are recalling priests to their orders this summer and will not be in a position to replace them.

"Every crisis also brings an opportunity for new possibilities. When we allow ourselves to dream, we can recover hope and the sense of opportunity."

"Priests spoke of a Church where all people are welcomed, cherished, valued, especially the poor, where the role of women is appreciated and valued, and where all are involved in decision making.

"Change is inevitable. Our parish faith communities cannot stand still. Neither can we go back. But how we respond to change can vary a lot.

"This is a radical new start, a new beginning.

"It is not going to be easy and there will be challenges and teething problems but, if we listen to the Holy Spirit working through us, I believe that we can build this Church together."

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Radical overhaul of major diocese announced in plan to help parishes cope with dwindling number of priests - Independent.ie