RECONFIGURATION:CATHOLIC primate of All-Ireland Cardinal Seán Brady said the Irish Catholic Church had been looking at a reconfiguration of its 26 dioceses even before Pope Benedict announced the apostolic visitation to Ireland two years ago.
He said “that preceded the visitation” and that the Irish church had a committee which had “made some initial proposals”.
The church in Ireland did not want this reconfiguration “linked with the abuse issue”, he said.
However a new element in this matter was addressed in the summary, which stated that there should be “consultation” with the communities involved in affected dioceses.
The report stated that “the visitation also placed in question the present configuration of dioceses in Ireland and their ability to respond adequately to the challenges of the New Evangelisation. The Holy See and the local episcopate have already initiated a joint reflection on this matter, in which the communities concerned are to be involved, with a view to adopting diocesan structures to make them better suited to the present-day mission of the church in Ireland.”
There is a bishop for 23 of Ireland’s 26 Catholic dioceses, plus two auxiliary bishops in Dublin, two auxiliary bishops in Down and Connor (Belfast), and one auxiliary bishop in Armagh.
Neither Limerick, Cloyne, nor Kildare and Leighlin dioceses have a bishop.
The diocesan structure of the Irish church was established in 1111 at the Synod of Rathbreasail which moved the Irish church from a monastic to a diocesan-based model.
This was developed further at the Synod of Kells in 1152.
In his book The End of Irish Catholicism? (2003) retired professor of moral theology at St Patrick’s College Maynooth, Dr Vincent Twomey, proposed that the number of Catholic dioceses in Ireland be reduced to 12. The church was “burdened with an excess of bishops – and of dioceses”, he said. Auxiliary bishops should be very much the exception, he said
