Majority of Irish priests call for reform of the Catholic Church

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The majority of priests active in Ireland would support radical reform of the church, including the ordination of women and the overturning of the strict rules of celibacy. And in less than 20 years such sweeping changes in the ailing Catholic Church will have been introduced in Ireland.

This is the opinion of Fr. Roy Donovan, spokesperson for the 1000-strong Catholic Priests Association.

Speaking on the eve of the group’s AGM in Athlone, Co Westmeath this week, Fr Donovan said he believed the Church as we know it in Ireland has almost “reached the end of its journey. “.

With the modernization of the Catholic Church due to be considered at the Rome Synod in 2023, he said he hoped far-reaching measures could realistically be accelerated in Ireland even earlier than two decades from now.

He said: “The priesthood must be reinvented here, and great changes are needed to breathe new life into the Church. The clerical system as we know it is coming to an end and we need ordinary people to support the Church.

“We need women priests and we need to end the rule of celibacy. I think a majority of priests want these changes and I think it will certainly happen in the next 20 years, but I hope that it will be much sooner.

“The old way of running the Church is almost over, and the changes have to happen and they will happen because if they don’t, there will be nothing left of the Church.”

Bro. Donovan, a 67-year-old clergyman based in Caherconlish, Co. Limerick, also warned that the growing problems of a dwindling number of priests and the lack of new vocations are putting unprecedented pressure on aging clergymen.

“The number of priests is very low and we are all getting old. As we know, some priests are asked to continue working beyond the age of 75, and priests feel obligated to do so because they don’t want to leave anyone down.

“One of the main functions of a priest is to say mass. But as it stands, we are faced with a situation where there will be no priests available in some parishes for funerals, weddings or baptisms. We may even have to celebrate common funeral masses in the near future, unless we see changes soon. “

Fr. Donovan also said he was concerned that members were increasingly suffering from depression and mental health issues.

He said the trend had been exacerbated by increased isolation and the closure of churches until recently due to the pandemic.

“One of the problems with priests is that they feel like they have nowhere to turn for help,” he added.

* This column first appeared in the November 17 edition of the weekly Irish Voice, sister publication of IrishCentral.

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