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Call for Courage in Dublin Diocese
From Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Dermot Farrell's Sermon for Pentecost Sunday, 24th May 2026:
"Our world has changed and is continuing to change. Parishes are changing too and need to find new expression, allowing new forms of pastoral care to emerge, ‘from which Christian witness can shine for the world’. (Dicastery for the Clergy, The Pastoral Conversion of the Parish Community in the Service of the Evangelising Mission of the Church, 2020, 123).
"It is in this spirit and in this hope that this Pentecost Letter puts before the Diocese a process which provides for initial reflection in parishes on their future. This process also sets out the formal steps to be taken, together with the Archbishop, when new parish structures and relationships are being considered: Process for the Modification of Parishes for Mission (May 2026)."Call for Courage in Limerick Diocese
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| Bishop Brendan Leahy, Irish Catholic, 18th May '26 |
From Bishop Leahy's letter read in Limerick churches, Sunday 14th June '26 (see here):
"[T]he Church is entering a period that will require difficult decisions and new ways of working and a broadening of volunteerism across parishes. [. . .] We must also be honest about the challenges ahead. Many of the proposals brought forward are excellent, but they come at a time when both clergy and parishioners are ageing, and when the pool of volunteers is smaller than before. We cannot keep asking the same faithful people to take on more. [. . .] [T]he future vitality of parish life will depend increasingly on the willingness of lay people to become actively involved in ministry and leadership. Unless more people are willing to become actively involved in the life of the parish, many of the aspirations and proposals that emerged from the parish consultations will be difficult to realise. The call for more lay involvement is not abstract, it is real and urgent." [This blog editor's emphasis]
The parish consultations referred to may be found here: Parish Consultation Report.
