Pope to Cut Diocese Numbers, Sunday Business Post, July 18, 2011

Pope to Cut Diocese Numbers

Sunday Business Post
July 18, 2011

http://www.sbpost.ie/newsfeatures/pope-to-cut-diocese-numbers-57524.html

Pope to cut diocese numbers

With the Catholic Church in Irelands inking deeper into disarray following publication of the Cloyne Report last week, there are signs that the Vatican intends a root-and-branch review of dioceses.

Six of the 26 dioceses in Ireland now have no bishop after the incumbent resigned or retired.

It's understood that Pope Benedict intends to use this opportunity to reduce the number of Irish dioceses and to appoint surprise candidates to newly-amalgamated dioceses, as he did to the dioceses of Killaloe and Ossory.

Corkman Monsignor Kieran O'Reilly, former head of the worldwide Society of African Missions, was installed as Bishop of Killaloe last August, while Seamus Freeman was moved from Rome, where he had been Rector General of the Pallotines, to become Bishop of Ossory.

Bishops who have already offered their resignation on age grounds are Colm O'Reilly of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise, Bill Murphy of Kerry and Christy Jones of Elphin.

All bishops are required to offer their resignation at the age of 75, though most do what one source described as "a lap of honour" before turning in their mitre.

Other bishops approaching retirement age this year include Bishop John Kirby of Clonfert, who will be 73 in October, Cardinal Séan Brady, Archbishop Dermot Clifford of Cashel and Bishop Seamus Hegarty of Derry, all 72, and the Bishops of Meath and Raphoe, who will be 71.

In March 2009, the Pope agreed to a request by Bishop John Magee of Cloyne to put administration of the diocese into the hands of Archbishop Clifford, to whose Church province the diocese of Cloyne belongs. Magee remained Bishop of Cloyne, but withdrew from administrative work.

In March last year, the Holy See announced that Magee had formally resigned as Bishop of Cloyne. Magee's public relations spokesman said last week that Magee was not in his diocese, but that was all he could say.

Apart from Cloyne, two other dioceses - Limerick, and Kildare and Loughlin - also have vacancies after Bishops Donal Murray and Jim Moriarty (both former auxiliaries in Dublin) resigned in the wake of the 2009MurphyReport on child abuse in Dublin.

The Vatican's plans to reform and reduce the number of Irish dioceses is all the more urgent in the light of falling numbers of Catholics attending Mass.

Traditionally, Ireland has had about twice as many priests per head of Catholic population as other European countries, but the vocations crisis has reduced the numbers of serving priests and led to the amalgamation of some parishes - a trend which is set to continue.

While Dublin has more than one million Catholics, and five other dioceses have more than 200,000, the smaller dioceses - such as Achonry and Clonfert, with just 35,000 Catholics each, and Killala with 40,000 - could face amalgamation with their larger neighbours.

It is understood that the Vatican will make no new episcopal appointments before the publication of the report of the 2010ApostolicVisitationto Ireland's four archdioceses and national seminary.

The first synopsis of that report is not expected to be published before early 2012.

The Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, said he had no comment to make.