The Catholic Bishop of Limerick has warned churchgoers that he can no longer guarantee that Sunday mass services will take place in all the churches in the diocese.
Bishop Brendan Leahy wrote in a letter that the number of priests is in rapid decline. As a result, lay people would have to fill the void by leading a range of church services, including funeral prayers and sacrament preparations for children.
“We will need lay people to lead prayers at funerals, at gravesides, to visit schools on behalf of the parish, to be involved in pastoral councils and baptismal teams, to help with the practical administration of parishes,” the bishop said.
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The bishop wrote that the number of priests was “declining rapidly” and that “the ageing profile of clergy is now very evident.”
“It is clear that at this stage we can no longer guarantee the celebration of a Mass in each church in the diocese each Sunday,” he continued.
“The rapid changes are calling us to envisage and work towards putting in place new forms of lay leadership in our parish communities. As per our Pastoral Plan that came out of our Limerick 2016 Synod, we have already begun formation programmes to help lay people assume new pastoral roles. We need to build on this. We are hopeful others will step forward to offer their services,” Bishop Leahy said.
“We all need to work urgently to prepare for the new arrangements that are needed in the coming years. It is in working together, encouraging each other and facing challenges with peace of soul combined with realism and determination that we move forward,” he added.
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