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There is a drying up of one of Ireland's greatest gifts to the Church: priestly vocations. David Sharron, Ireland Correspondent to Times Online, reported that the vocation situation in Ireland is drastically impacting the parishes, the Church. By 2028 the total number of priests in Ireland will be 1500 having dropped from a current 4752! In the past year 160 priests died while only 9 were ordained.
Ireland, the place of such dedicated religious faith and practice, has also seen a serious decline in the attendance at Mass. The secularization of the Emerald Isle is well underway and seriously impacting the Church.
Obviously the issues that were reported yesterday after the challenging report from the Pew Foundation are not exclusively American problems. The land who gave so many priests to so many places in the world now confronts the reality that so many priests have left the priesthood or died. In the discussions that seem to be rising to the top among the clergy and the laity is the question about celibacy.
Clearly the Holy Spirit is trying to lead us to a new understanding of Church in our times when the number of priests are so diminished. We are confronted with the challenge to pray in a serious manner to God for hearts to open to hear his Word. It is only prayer that is going to genuinely assist us in trying to develop an understanding of possible solutions for the USA, Ireland and the other countries of the world that have experienced a decline in priestly vocations.
