Bishops to resist cuts in diocese numbers

THE Vatican is believed to be meeting resistance from Irish archbishops to its plans to cut the number of dioceses by up to a half — meaning the country would need fewer bishops.

The plan to reduce dioceses gathered pace during the Vatican’s apostolic visitation, according to the Irish Catholic newspaper.

It has been reported that the Vatican is considering reducing the number of dioceses by as many as 15, leaving the country with 11. In the 1980s, it eradicated up to 100 dioceses in Italy, leaving the diocese of Milan with a population the size of Ireland.