A 45-YEAR-OLD former butcher was ordained as a priest of the Dublin archdiocese at the weekend.
Fr Conleth Meehan (45), who worked with Dungannon Meats in Co Tyrone before entering Maynooth six years ago, was ordained on Saturday in Dublin's Pro-Cathedral. Archbishop Martin also commissioned 10 new parish pastoral workers at the ceremony.
This is the second group to complete a year of formation and they will take up roles in Dublin parishes over coming weeks. Last summer, 13 such parish pastoral workers were commissioned for the first time in the archdiocese. A third group of 10 will begin their year of formation in September.
The archdiocese was "happy to see a growing commitment of lay men and women who wish to be active in the pastoral structures of the diocese", the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said, but "there is still a long way to go", he added. Addressing pockets of resistance to such lay involvement, he commented: "Let me say this: the specific authority of a priest is abused if he does not welcome and foster full participation of lay men and women in the activity of his parish."
The primary responsibility of ensuring that gospel principles influence society "belongs to lay men and women", he said.
"Catholicism in Ireland and Irish Catholicism are changing. There is no point in thinking that things have not changed radically and, in many cases, I believe we are not addressing all the dimensions of that change. The church lives within a particular society and in a particular culture . . . The church must also in its own unique way influence and shape that culture," he said.
He continued: "The primary responsibility of working to ensure that the principles of the Gospel are transmitted to and influence society and the 'public square' belongs to lay men and women. They live and work in the world and have the appropriate expertise and knowledge." He said "the Catholic Church in Ireland requires a more critical engagement with the changing society, even when the values that spring from the gospel do not win popular acceptance. Questions about the family, marriage and sexuality, the protection and transmission of life are vital questions about which the Christian message has a vital contribution to bring. Christians have the obligation to witness these values by their own lives."