Cork parishes to lose priests and Masses as numbers fall

It comes as eight priests in the Cork and Ross diocese retire while three others return to their religious orders

Bishop Fintan Gavin, Bishop of Cork and Ross, warned: "Certain churches may not have a weekend Mass as they did up to now. The number of priests available for ministry will be reduced this summer. This will inevitably mean that more parishes will no longer have a resident priest. This is one of the greatest challenges we face.” Picture: Brian Lougheed

Almost a dozen parishes in the Cork and Ross diocese are set to lose a priest as a radical framework is being put in place arising out of a fall in priest numbers.

Eight retirements have been announced by Bishop Fintan Gavin, as well as the return of three others to their religious orders.

Parishes will now be bunched together in “families of parishes”, overseen by a moderator priest. and duties for the parishes will be shared by a group of priests attached to the “family”.

For example, the parishes of Aughadown, and Rath and the Islands, will not have resident priests but will be ministered by priests attached to other parishes in the same family – Castlehaven, Kilmacabea and Skibbereen. 

Under the new arrangement, set to take effect from September 10, two priests will be based in Skibbereen while one each will be in Castlehaven and Kilmacabea. Those four will minister to Skibbereen, Castlehaven, Kilmacabea, Aughadown, and Rath and the Islands.

On the northside of Cork city, the parishes of Clogheen/Kerry Pike, Farranree, Gurranabraher and Knocknaheeny/Hollyhill will become a family of parishes, with Clogheen/Kerry Pike not having a resident priest. Four priests will serve the four parishes, with two of those being resident in Gurranabraher.

Eight priests are retiring from full-time ministry - Fr Donal Cahill, Fr Tom Clancy, Fr Patrick Hickey, Fr Charlie Nyhan, Canon George Murphy, Mons Kevin O’Callaghan, Canon Tadhg Ó Mathúna and Fr Billy O’Sullivan.

A further three - Fr JP O’Riordan CSsR, Fr Tom Mulcahy MSC and Fr Alphonse Sekongo SMA - are returning to their religious orders.

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In a pastoral letter to parishioners across the diocese on Tuesday, Bishop Gavin said one ordination will take place in September. And he said that while a small number of retiring priests will continue to help out as assistant priests, “most have understandably decided they would prefer to retire fully from their appointments”.

He said that lay leadership will develop over time while deacons will also be involved in the new structure.

He noted that there will be fewer Masses, and said: “Certain churches may not have a weekend Mass as they did up to now. This is something that we will have to work on. The number of priests available for ministry will be reduced this summer. 

This will inevitably mean that more parishes will no longer have a resident priest. This is one of the greatest challenges we face.

Fr Tim Hazelwood of the Association of Catholic Priests says there is a big challenge facing the Catholic Church, particularly in relation to women’s role in the Church and the approach to human sexuality.

He said that women are not “taken seriously” in the structures of the Church, with no opportunity for them.

Fr Hazelwood said: “That is just not acceptable in any form of life now and that is reflected in how people look at the Church. We need to look at human sexuality again. All our teaching is based on the natural law – male, female. The sciences have changed and we need to engage with that.”