Bishop: Diocese suffering due to decline in priest numbers

Bishop John Buckley has said the declining number of priests is impacting more and more on his diocese as he announced plans to prioritise hospital chaplaincies and the pastoral care of the sick, dying, and bereaved.

The Bishop of Cork and Ross delivered the warning yesterday as he announced a number of clerical changes in the diocese.

“What community can be without a priest,” he asked, “when the doctor says ‘there is no more I can do’?”