Lay community can help elderly priests

Dear Editor, I refer to Greg Daly’s report in The Irish Catholic of November 24 of his attendance at the AGM of the Association of Catholic Priests. An Irish Times editorial of November 18 referred to and fully supported Fr Brendan Hoban’s views on priests being a ‘lost tribe’.

As an ordinary and elderly parishioner, I too fully support our priests and my admiration, respect and love is unqualified. Their ongoing commitment, outstanding service in communities all over Ireland and the world, and their daily work and prayers over a lifetime are simply unique.

Greg Daly mentions Fr Gerry O’Connor and his call for more lay participation and ministry in the Church. This is absolutely essential, perhaps the real key for “God’s people to get good service and the Church to try and have a future”. I believe that with constructive lay involvement and in tandem with but led by the hierarchy and priests, the Church will have a different emphasis: renewed, growing, more relevant, and in particular with a new day-to-day holiness and faith, which will sustain a Catholic Ireland and world well into the future.

To conclude, it also seems to me that our lay community must try to do more to assist our elderly priests.

Yours etc.,

Robin Gill

Carrigaline, Co. Cork.