In 20 years, if nothing is done, there will be no more practicing priests in Ireland. So, the association of priests in Ireland has just officially asked Rome to modernize the Church to make access to the priesthood more flexible.
The problem is that the priests are getting old and cannot find replacements. The number of parish priests close to retirement today greatly exceeds the number of new arrivals. To give an idea, there are less than 50 men at Maynooth seminary, which has been training Irish priests since the 18th century, whereas in the 1980s there were more than 600. And if we look at those who are in office, only 50 are under the age of 40. Older clergy often have to stay past the retirement age set at 75, as Father John Collins fears, in Dublin. “I may be the last priest of this parish”, he advances.
“There are five churches in the area with three priests, and pressure for the priests to continue.”
Father John Collinsat franceinfo
“It adds stress. Some of our priests are falling ill, continues Father Collins. You have to be very strong to survive the Catholic Church today.”
We observe a crisis of vocations with a real societal change. Young men indeed have many more professional opportunities than before, in secular sectors. The Church therefore needs to modernize urgently in order to survive, explains Father Collins. “There is no reason to ban married clergy. You know, celibacy is not for everyone ! There is no reason why women should not be ordained. They shouldn’t wait any longer. But I think it will take time for the Church to come into line with my ideas !”
And it is not yet on the agenda at the Vatican. To continue to function, Irish parishes often have to cut masses or reduce the number of baptisms. But often that is not enough. The dioceses therefore began to recruit on the other side of the world, in India, Poland, Romania, Nigeria, or even the Philippines. We often see foreign priests at Mass now, even in small remote villages. But that doesn’t please everyone. Because they are not footballers who can be transferred in exchange for money, criticize some members of the clergy.