Dublin parishes are set to share priests due to a current shortage in members of the clergy, with lay people already leading funerals in the archdiocese.
New measures introduced by the Dublin Archdiocese could also see priestless funerals, and ceremonies led by lay people. Fr. Aquinas Duffy, the Parish Priest of Cabinteely, said the average age of priests in the diocese is 70.
Fr Duffy told Newstalk that priests are dying in the diocese and ordinations are low. He explained: "34 priests have died since February of 2020 and I think there was one ordination in that time so you don't need to be able to do the maths to see the difficulty that we're in.
