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	Wealthy City Parish to Be Run by Opus Dei By Claire Murphy Herald August 29, 2008 http://www.herald.ie/national-news/city-news/wealthy-city-parish--to-be-run-by-opus-dei-1465620.html A wealthy Dublin parish is to become the first in Ireland to be run by Opus Dei. The Catholic movement will run its first Irish church from Merrion Road. The organisation has been entrusted with the Our Lady Queen of Peach parish by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin. Reports today suggested that the move made by the archbishop was done without the knowledge of the people or the priests of the diocese. "People are gobsmacked by the decision, priests and people alike," the source said. Parishioners were informed about the decision last Sunday. The new parish priest, Opus Dei's Fr Fergus O'Connor, to be assisted by Opus Dei colleague Fr Charlie Connolly, will operate from next Monday. Parallels have been drawn between the recent Vatican leanings towards the organisation and the handing over of the parish on Merrion Road to Opus Dei practitioners. Pope Benedict recently stayed with Opus Dei in Sydney on his visit for World Youth Day, which Archbishop Martin also attended. The diocese already has 40 parishes run by religious orders, the greater number of these are in disadvantaged areas. A spokeswoman for the diocese said that the parish pastoral council was informed in advance. "There was no difference in practice on this occasion," a spokeswoman said. "The decision was made by the archbishop, as was the case with all the other parishes attributed to religious orders." She said that the move was made because there was a shortage of priests in the diocese, adding that "the needs of parishes such as Merrion Road are changing", the parish priest was retiring and the Opus Dei priests could provide a wide range of services. The spokeswoman added that the church is a 'service church' with large numbers of people calling on a regular basis, due to its position on a main road and its location near a large hospital. "The decision to assign the parish to Opus Dei was influenced by their ability to provide a number of priests who would be able to provide a wide range of services and ministries throughout the day," she said. Worldwide, Opus Dei has around 87,000 members. There are 700 Opus Dei members in Ireland - mostly based in Dublin, Cork and Limerick - including 17 priests.
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