‘No plans’ to close churches or merge parishes: Bishop

Despite admitting that the number of priests working in the diocese of Meath is decreasing and the age profile of those who are working is increasing, the Bishop of Meath has assured parishioners that there are “no plans” to close churches, merge parishes or centralise parish assets.

The assurances given by Bishop Tom Deenihan were made in a pastoral letter which was published at the weekend and issued to parishioners at all Masses across the 69 parishes in the sprawling diocese, which encompasses Westmeath, Offaly and Meath as well as parts of Longford, Louth, Dublin and Cavan.

The pastoral letter, which was prepared against the backdrop of the findings of the recent synodal discussions across the diocese of Meath, does warn, however, that the survival of a parish “does not and cannot depend solely on the local priest” and sets out a future where parishes will continue to provide pastoral care and will become places of evangelisation “even when there is no resident priest”.

Bishop Deenihan stressed the importance of “a functioning and trained” Parish Pastoral Council in each of the 69 parishes across the Meath diocese, and told his parishioners that 14 new Pastoral Areas have now been created following consultation with both clergy and the members of parish councils. While the Church leader said the “immediate aim” of having each parish linked to a Pastoral Area is to ensure the other priests in the Pastoral Area will be “available to serve in a parish where there is no longer a resident priest” he added that these newly-created areas must be “places of cooperation, initiative and energy.”

In acknowledging that there is “understandable pride in one's parish” Bishop Deenihan pointed out in his pastoral letter that “no parish can survive in isolation, and he urged parishioners to look at the development of “a culture of parishes working together” and outlined a number of key areas where co-operation is possible. Looking to the future survival of parishes in the diocese of Meath, Bishop Deenihan said he will ask representatives of each parish council within the newly-created Pastoral Areas to meet and discuss the issue of “inter-parish cooperation three times per year and will also appoint a priest from within each Pastoral Area to as as a facilitator.

Bishop Deenihan also hinted at a possible reduction in the number of Masses that can be celebrated in churches that make up the new Pastoral Areas when he pointed out that “when four priest are serving five parishes, not every parish can have a 6pm Vigil Mass.”

He also asked parishioners to be mindful of what priests across the diocese, “can realistically do” in view of the fact that many of them are past retirement age.

“It is simply a fact that as priests, like everyone else, grow older, their energy decreases,” said the Bishop, and he said parish councils will need to begin looking at the Mass schedule in a Pastoral Area to see “what can be realistically offered” in the context of priest supplying for absent colleagues or when a parish has no resident priest.

Bishop Deenihan said he firmly believes that “vibrant and committed” parish councils focused on evangelisation coupled with parishes working together in Pastoral Areas to support each other will provide “the best chance of having vibrant parishes in the future.”