Fr Séamus McEntee, the vocations director for the Archdiocese of Dublin, confirmed the worrying number. "In September, we will have another man coming in… I wish there were more" he said.

McEntee also mentioned ongoing conversations with other men considering the priesthood. However, the discernment process is lengthy and rigorous.

"I have to discern with them for up to two years before I judge them fit to apply even" McEntry explained.

"Then they go forward for panel interview and different assessments and so forth before they go into propaedeutic [preparatory study] year in Valladolid in Spain."

Six dioceses to become three

The news comes amid Ireland's Catholic Church consolidating its six dioceses into three.

It is the largest restructure in nearly 900 years.

As well as a shortage of priests, the consolidation comes amidst a declining number of practising Catholics.

Severe priest shortage

Ireland has only 2,100 priests serving an estimated 3.5 million Catholics and, with many priests nearing retirement combined with the significant lack of new seminarians, the future looks very different from what the country is used to.

In 2022, Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell invited "women and men who feel that they are called to ministry to come forward to train as instituted lectors, acolytes and catechists.

"These are lay ministers, women and men, who are publicly recognised by the Church and appointed by the diocese to minister alongside priests and deacons in leading liturgies, supporting adult faith formation and accompanying families preparing for the sacraments.

"It is my pastoral responsibility as Bishop to do this - for the sake of the gospel and for the sake of the People of God" he said.

Lay funeral ministry

Also tacking the challenge is Bishop of Clogher, Larry Duffy.

With only 44 priests serving 85 churches across 37 parishes, many priests are stretched thin, traveling between multiple locations.

To help minister at such a peak moment, the diocese has introduced a lay funeral ministry.

The first group of 40 lay ministers, already trained, will lead funeral services in 12 parishes.

These services will not include Mass which only priests can celebrate, but will feature scripture readings, eulogies and prayers at the graveside.

Sources

Aleteia

Catholic Vote

Universe Weekly

CathNews New Zealand

Three children and an adult fell victim to a stabbing incident near the Gaelscoil Coláiste Mhuire primary school in Parnell Square, Dublin on Thursday.

In a statement released on the Archdiocese of Dublin's website, Archbishop Farrell said "It was with utter disbelief that I heard the news of the horrific attack on Parnell Square here in Dublin.

"An attack like this outside a school, involving innocent victims, including children, is particularly distressing."

The stabbing attack triggered violent riots in Dublin's city centre. About a hundred rioters wreaked havoc - setting a bus ablaze, looting stores and torching cars.

Farrell condemned the actions, urging nonviolence.

"We have seen with our own eyes how violence puts everyone—especially the vulnerable and the innocent—in mortal danger.

"In places we know first-hand, we have seen its power to draw people in and consume them in a spiral of hatred and destruction."

Far-right ideology

Dublin Police Commissioner Drew Harris linked the riots to 'far-right ideology'.

The attack resulted in 34 arrests.

The suspected attacker, a man in his late 40s, is under arrest. He was injured during the incident.

The police stated they were not seeking any other suspects and had not ruled out any motive for the attack, including terrorism.

Eyewitnesses recounted the sudden attack, describing the chaotic scene as children fell to the ground. The alleged assailant, armed with a knife, was swiftly tackled by bystanders before police intervened.

The aftermath of the attack left a 5-year-old girl in critical condition at Temple Street children's hospital.

A seriously injured woman, a school employee in her 30s, is believed to have shielded a child with her body.

Another 6-year-old girl sustained less severe injuries, and a 5-year-old boy was discharged.

Nearby Dominican friars at St Saviour's priory, stunned by the stabbing attack, prayed for those involved.

"These events took place very near the Dominican church of St Saviour's in the north inner city. The whole community here is praying for all involved," Father Conor McDonough said.

Sources

Catholic News Agency

UCA News

Dublin Diocese

He says younger generations are most acutely suffering from the underlying crisis of faith.

Farrell (pictured) blames media in part for this, saying "Public commentary in the media in Ireland has not been positive in its understanding of the Church and its need for vocations, and for public support of those trying to preach the Gospel.

"The challenges facing me are pretty clear. We have an ageing clergy and very few vocations to the diocesan priesthood or religious life. There is a major decline in the number of people who actively practice and live their faith."

The archbishop says being openly, actively involved in practising the Faith is essential - but this isn't happening.

"Faith needs ritual, embodiment. One must see in people how faith is lived. Today the visibility of faith has for all intents and purposes vanished. I am also dealing with the legacy of sexual abuse scandals which have damaged the Church's credibility. Since finance is a function of numbers, financial issues will arise which will be accelerated by the global pandemic and its aftermath."

In Farrell's opinion, the current model of the Church is unsustainable. Nonetheless, he has not given up on trying and had a number of ideas to help the Church regenerate.

He says Dublin needs "an effective programme of catechetics throughout the diocese to add to and, eventually, replace the current teaching of faith to the young.

"With the gradual decline of family socialisation in religion, the role of the qualified catechist will be essential. In my opinion, the handing on of the Faith to the young is one of the most serious challenges facing our Church today."

For Christian belief to thrive, bishops and priests have "to encourage a participatory institutional model of Church with a leadership of service," Farrell says. Central to this model "is the People of God, who comprise 99.99 percent of the Church's members. When this is grasped all else changes," he says.

Despite his concerns, Farrell says he is "not pessimistic about the future of the Church in Dublin.

"When young people volunteer to look after the sick, or the elderly, or the poor, when accompanied, it may facilitate a dynamic where the Lord starts to speak and move the heart of the young person. We need to start here rather than telling people to go to Mass.

"This time of reduced numbers may well afford us an opportunity to be creative and to re-imagine the institutional Church. We have not been abandoned by God. God is to be found in this situation," he concludes.

Source

• The Irish Times
• Image: National Catholic Register