The Vatican has insisted that bishops must consult with parishioners when decisions are made about reorganisation of parishes.
Rome also warned this week that a lack of priestly vocations or financial pressure in a diocese is not a good enough reason for a bishop to close parishes or sell churches.
It comes as many dioceses in Ireland are facing huge financial challenges due to the impact of lost collections during the lockdown of churches.
The Vatican’s Congregation for Clergy issued a new instruction on Monday on the role of laypeople which also offers guidance in parish reforms and restructuring.
Deacons
The 22-page document, titled ‘The Pastoral Conversion of the Parish Community in the Service of the Evangelising Mission of the Church’, also warns against permanent deacons – an increasing feature in Irish diocese – being seen as “half priests”.
It points to Church law allowing deacons and laypeople to lead liturgies, but only in exceptional cases when a priest is unavailable.
The importance of the laity in the parish community was emphasised in the way bishops work on restructuring the diocese, particularly when it comes to closing or merging parishes.
Msgr Andrea Ripa, undersecretary of the Congregation for Clergy, insisted that laypeople must be consulted when changes are afoot in the Church.
In order for such restructuring to succeed, the document said, many factors need to be taken into account by including all members of the parish.
“Dropping plans upon the People of God from above, without their involvement, should be avoided,” Msgr Ripa said.
The instruction underlined that certain reasons were not sufficient for suppressing a parish, including “the scarcity of diocesan clergy, the general financial situation of a diocese” or other situations that are temporary or reversible.
Similarly, legitimate reasons for the de-consecration and sale of places of worship could not include “the lack of clergy, demographic decline or the grave financial state of the diocese”, it said.