The Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, yesterday announced a series of initiatives intended to revitalise the Catholic church in the archdiocese.
Speaking at All Hallows College to a gathering of more than 400 priests, approximately two-thirds of whom serve the Dublin area, he said it was his wish that every parish in the archdiocese would have a pastoral council in place by the beginning of Lent next year.
The archbishop said he wanted "to see that every parish adheres to this diocesan norm, just as they should have a parish finance committee as required by canon law."
The parish pastoral councils would not be "debating societies or places for honorary membership," he said. They would proclaim the Word of God, particularly to the young. They would foster the sacramental, liturgical and prayer life of the parish; support marriage and the family; and strengthen the commitment to social justice, he said.
"They should look to new members of their communities, especially the new Irish," he said, adding that they "must address social challenges. I am growingly concerned about the drink culture in Ireland, among young and old, and the link with violence. I was horrified by the brutal beating of a Lithuanian worker in Dublin just a mile away from where we gather," he said.
Archbishop Martin also launched what he termed a "parishes-working-together-for-mission" initiative, whereby groups of parishes would share resources. He requested that diocesan deaneries address this matter at their next meeting or at special meetings next month.
Under such an initiative, parishes would investigate fostering greater involvement by laity. They will look at the establishment of full-time lay ministries which could undertake administrative work in parishes, freeing priests to attend to their primary role. He said he also anticipated the involvement of lay people in catechetics and formation, particularly with young people.
They could also be involved in family life support, as well as chaplaincies, he added.
Archbishop Martin announced a diocesan-wide programme of faith formation for Ireland's capital, for the duration of Lent next year. He expected it would have three dimensions: concrete programmes of faith formation; liturgical celebrations focusing on the traditions of Lent and preparation for Easter, and fasting and alms-giving orientated to specific charities, led in the main by young people.
Archbishop Martin said he was "trying as much as possible to be conscious of the problems of priests."
He repeated his intention to appoint an episcopal vicar for priests "who will act as a renewed sign that I wish the priests of the diocese to know that they are listened to, that they are to be treated as mature persons, respected in their dignity and worth and that they have a voice."
He continued: "We have to support each other and build relationships of respect, solidarity and charity.
"I would like to see - on a voluntary basis - more community living and new forms of community in ministry and life."
This would become even more important as priest numbers went down and the risk of loneliness grew, he said.
Archbishop Martin said he intends to work "very closely" with the Council of Priests of the diocese and he urged the attendance to give very serious attention to the upcoming election of a new council, so a "genuinely representative team" would be in place.
Speaking to reporters later, Archbishop Martin said, where clerical appointments in the archdiocese were concerned, it was his intention to remove secrecy or mystique, and adopt a more open face-to-face approach.
"I believe it is very important that priests are treated as mature people," he said.