The number of priests and members of religious orders in Ireland has dropped by 70% since 1970. In the past three years more than 25% of all priests in Ireland have died. The average age of priests has risen substantially in that time; it is now well above 70. Add to that, problems of health and morale, and you have a serious difficulty with staffing, to name just one. I currently hold the responsibility as parish priest of three parishes. Clustering parishes has become the norm. In our diocese many clergy generously continue holding active posts of responsibility well into their 80s. I often marvel at these elderly priests being so selfless despite the burden that comes with old age. However, does the institution think that this responsibility inflicted on such men to be acceptable?
The volume of work has not grown less; if anything, the contrary is true, but the numbers available to do it have declined. Statistics and anecdotal evidence could be multiplied, but it is unnecessary. This situation did not develop overnight. A substantial decline in vocations began as far back as thirty years ago. There was no shortage of voices calling for action, for a review of the way that we are church, for the training and empowerment of lay people, for the creation of structures of dialogue, participation, and subsidiarity. In response, some wagged a finger in reproof, saying, ‘God will provide’. That was to evade the issue, and the decline continued. Regrettably, little of the above was done. A crash landing, therefore, seems more likely than a soft one. If you don’t learn lessons the easy way, you are taught the hard way. If you don’t take the initiative, you will be boxed into a corner by circumstances beyond your control, and with no room for manoeuvre. If you don’t reform, you precipitate a revolution – or a collapse.
Perhaps it is providential. The model of church – that is to say, the particular way of being the church – we have lived with in Europe for centuries is on its last legs and, most likely, will collapse. What will follow? It is impossible to know, and speculation about the future usually gets it wrong. What may emerge will be a new model of church, more democratic and less hierarchical, more charismatic and less structured, more lay and less clerical, smaller and less concerned with numbers. Out of that, a new understanding of the Christian faith may also emerge. In much of the world, the Catholic Church turned the faith into a control system. That was to repeat the Pharisees’ mistake, and to miss the point that Jesus was trying to free people from that. If the faith is seen as prophetic and motivating, focusing on relationships, enabling people to realize their humanity, it will be true to itself and be welcomed. Otherwise, it will wither and have to await a better day.
The Church as we knew it may be in crisis, but a new model is emerging. Many Irish bishops acknowledge that the Irish Church is facing a crisis. Bishop Denis Nulty began his recent pastoral letter by describing the stark reality of the crisis: the number of priests is declining, some religious and overseas priests are returning to their orders or home dioceses, and many diocesan priests are serving beyond the normal retirement age. Kildare and Leighlin now has 56 parishes and 117 churches organised into 11 pastoral areas. This means parishes will have to reconsider Mass schedules, chaplaincies to schools, hospitals and nursing homes, and the workload being carried by priests. He appealed for sensitivity toward elderly and overburdened clergy, noting that it is no longer possible for fewer priests to meet every expectation. He pointed out that there are 27 priests over 75 who are still holding parish appointments, including 10 serving as parish priests or administrators.
But paradoxically, as the old model of Church is dying, a new model is slowly emerging. The bishops are calling attention to a synodal way of being Church, which is being discovered in many dioceses. They are clearly discerning that this emerging model is being inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit. Don’t get me wrong; we need priests. All bishops emphatically proclaim that we need priests so that the Eucharist may nourish the whole body. They acknowledge that parishes, Christian communities, will not survive without the sacraments, which can only be administered by priests. However, a new ecclesial reality is emerging. Lay pastoral leaders are being recruited, trained and commissioned to work collaboratively with priests in parishes. Parishes will be served by clergy and pastoral leaders working together as a team.
Here in Kildare and Leighlin 25 people are currently training as lay pastoral leaders. Lay leaders are engaged in a diverse range of pastoral activities, such as coordinating the visitation of the housebound and elderly, visiting nursing homes, and supporting staff and residents to celebrate moments of prayer; they also design initiatives around catechesis that complement the role of the teacher in sacramental preparation of children. Some of the newly commissioned lay leaders exercise a ministry of bereavement support and lead funeral ministry teams. Some are skilled in IT and so use social media, which significantly improves communications in their parishes.
The emerging lay leaders experience their ministry as a calling, a vocation. They are asked to engage in a six-month discernment process to test that calling as it were. They are then inducted into the two-year theological formation programme. Graduates have testified to their deep spiritual experience of vocation as they begin their ministry. It is apparent from the response to date that there are many such vocations. People are responding to the call with great generosity of spirit and are eager to establish dynamic collaborative leadership teams in parishes to serve the people in their communities. Here in the parishes that I serve I am deeply indebted to the many lay people who take leadership and contribute greatly to our faith communities. It is often in the absence of the priest where that lay presence comes forward celebrating our common baptismal calling as followers of Christ. So yes, even in the midst of such a crisis, I have great hope for the Irish Church.