Together Towards Tomorrow in Hope
2025 – A Report
On January 28th and 29th last, the
priests of the Diocese of Clonfert and the Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and
Kilfenora along with lay staff from both dioceses met in Co. Clare. This was
the first time the priests of both dioceses had come together for a time of
friendship, prayer together and hope filled reflection on the future.
Discussions were had on the journey to date in forming viable vibrant groupings
of Parishes or Faith Communities where priests and laity would work together to
respond to the pastoral needs of the people. It was acknowledged that the
future was going to be very different from the past and that we had to
gradually move towards a radical rationalisation of our current pastoral
provisions and infrastructure. The need to involve and form lay people to take
up various roles in parishes was discussed. In the context of input on the
recent universal synod on synodality in Rome, the importance of Parish Pastoral
Councils and Parish Finance Committees was affirmed along with a need to focus
on reaching out to people and inviting them to become active members of our
local faith communities. The gathering also spent time on the strains and
stresses of priestly ministry today and on how we might work out what might be
a sustainable workload for priests where numbers of priests are decreasing and
the demands on those who are in ministry increasing. During the gathering it
was announced that an inter-diocesan conference for members of Parish Pastoral
Councils would take place in May, while in August Bishop Michael will lead a
pilgrimage for young people to the Jubilee events for youth in Rome. Please
continue to keep these deliberations in your prayers.
