Archbishop Dermot Farrell. Photo: OSV News/courtesy John McElroy Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell has called on Catholics across the archdiocese to embrace an accelerating process of parish restructuring the format for which was published alongside a pastoral letter for Pentecost. The Archbishop urges Dubliners: “If we have the courage to face up to the reality of our local Church today, we will clearly see that we need to travel lighter, and that already we need to let go of many things which we considered essential, but, which now – truth be told – overburden us.”
The pastoral letter accompanies the formal launch of a Process for the Modification of Parishes for Mission, a canonical (Canon Law) framework that will govern how parishes in the Archdiocese of Dublin are merged, restructured or reconfigured in the coming years. It is a legal process that outlines the legal steps the Archbishop must take and the reasons he must have for parish mergers. Parishes can appeal to the Vatican if not happy with the final decision.
The move is the latest and most formal step in a restructuring process that has been under way across the diocese for several years. In April 2021, Archbishop Farrell established a task force under the title ‘Building Hope’, aimed at supporting parish communities as they were asked to undertake radical renewal. That initiative has since grouped parishes into 53 partnerships, with priests now serving multiple parishes.
The underlying demographic pressure is acute. Some city centre parishes have already been amalgamated or merged. Once source said that “there are too many large churches that are becoming harder to maintain. Others are getting to the end of their lifespan and wouldn’t be suitable for renovation.”
Archbishop Farrell acknowledged that the process will be painful for many, writing that “there will be a sense of grief and loss” as communities relinquish familiar parish structures, but insisting there “can also be liberation in letting go and starting anew.”
Some of the parishes that will be asked to reflect on this process are the larger suburban parish areas that have two or three churches. Church buildings in the city centre are problematic because many are run by religious orders who are also struggling with less members and large maintenance and heating bills and falling congregations.
The restructuring process, the archbishop writes, developed in consultation with the Council of Priests, the Diocesan Pastoral Council and deanery bodies, will task Parish Pastoral Councils and Partnership Pastoral Councils with leading local discernment about their future shape.