In his 2024 pastoral letter, Moving Forward in Hope, Bishop Ray Browne expressed his wish that all parishes/parishioners would meet to discuss the questions he has listed below.
A meeting of all parties involved in the Castleisland parish will be held in the River Island Hotel on Wednesday, February 21st at 8pm. Discussions will centre around the following questions:
1. Without the presence of a priest to lead and coordinate, what aspects of parish life could we, the laity, take responsibility for and organise ourselves?
2. Where do we see scope for cooperation with neighbouring parishes in our pastoral area?
3. Given what Bishop Ray has said about reducing numbers and increasing age, what do we want to say to priests?
In his letter Bishop Browne mapped out the challenge ahead as he sees it.
A Valuable and Valued Resource
“I see the life of the 110 local church-communities as a valuable and valued resource for people now and into the future. In the light of fewer clergy, we need to explore how each local church-community can thrive with local leadership acting co-responsibly with the priests ministering to the parishes of the pastoral areas,” said Bishop Browne.
“A church can still be the centre point for community life, even if there is no weekend Mass.
Think of your local church community in four ways: a social/friendship community; a caring compassionate community; a praying, worshiping and sacramental community; and a community whose mission is to nourish and develop its faith, and hand it on to the next generation,” he said.
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