Church adapts to vocations fall

THE numbers studying for the priesthood across Galway’s three dioceses is now in the low single figures – and it’s a trend that’s unlikely to change dramatically over the coming years, according to a prominent local cleric.

Oranmore Parish Priest, Fr. Diarmuid Hogan – Administrator for the Galway Diocese – told the Connacht Tribune that in a changing Ireland, the high vocation numbers that featured through much of the last century, were a thing of the past.

He said that the trend of recent years – namely that of major growth in the role of the laity in the church – would continue over the coming years in all aspects of the faith which, he added, was ‘all for the good’.

Fr. Hogan confirmed that that in the Galway Diocese, there was just one person currently studying for the priesthood, and he also outlined the historical context of high vocation numbers through a large part of the last century.

“My point mainly is, that when people say there is a shortage of priests and a decline in vocations, they are often comparing the present situation with the middle of the last century when there was, for a variety of reasons, a unique abundance of clergy.

“This was a time in Ireland when, having finally achieved political independence, we were finding our feet in the world. Catholicism was an intrinsic part of our identity and was clearly associated with ‘Irishness’. To be Irish was to be Catholic. To be Catholic was to be ‘not British’,” said Fr. Hogan.

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