Dublin priest numbers will fall 70 per cent in next 20 years or sooner

Priest numbers in the Dublin archdiocese are expected to decline by 70 per cent in the next 20 years, but there are fears such a decline may happen even sooner, a recent report published in The Irish Times has claimed.

The report also mentions fears, highlighted in the latest diocesan financial statement, that reserves at one of its charities, the Diocesan Support Services, will run out within 16 years.

Only two priests have been ordained for the diocese of Dublin since 2020, a far cry from the days when the city was home to two major diocesan seminaries (Clonliffe and All Hallows), in addition to the national seminary, which still operates at Maynooth.

The Irish Times quotes Fr Tim Hazelwood of the Association of Catholic Priests as saying it is impossible to predict trends with accuracy, making the point that decline levels predicted by the Christian Brothers as taking 20 years actually happened in ten years. “People get heart attacks,” he stated.

Fr Hazelwood says the pressures on elderly priests are unfair and feels matters are even worse in rural dioceses, saying he knew of one priest in another diocese serving 12 churches.

As previously outlined, the vocation crisis is not solely a problem for the diocese of Dublin, with the number of priests and members of religious orders in Ireland having dropped by 70 per cent since 1970.

In the past three years, more than 25 per cent of priests in Ireland have died, with the average age of priests having risen substantially in that time to now be over 70.

Reliance on overseas clergy seems to be a growing reality – a striking example is Portlaoise, one of the main towns in the Irish midlands, where Mgr John Byrne is assisted by curates from Indonesia, Romania, China and Brazil. Meanwhile, there are reports of lay people being trained to lead funeral liturgies.

In England and Wales, there has been considerable fluctuation in recent years in numbers entering the seminaries. 16 entered in 2022, compared to 20 the previous year, according to the National Office for Vocation and the Conference of Religious. Clifton, Shrewsbury, Westminster and the Ordinariate recorded two each.

Globally, vocations are growing in Africa and Asia, but not enough to offset decline in Europe and Oceania.

It is clear a major challenge faces vocations directors to ensure adequate clergy numbers.

(CNS)

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