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Rural chapels face closure
03.10.11
by Linda McGrory
SOME rural chapels in Inishowen may have to close
their doors in years to come as older priests retire
and financial pressures render some parishes
unviable.
Spokesman for the Derry diocese, Fr Michael Canny,
was speaking as parish priests in the peninsula
report difficulties meeting the cost of heating and
lighting their chapels, parochial houses and parish
halls.
Fr Canny, however, said church closures would not
happen for at least five years and "only in a worse
case scenario". He said Mass attendances had dropped
by 80 per cent in some parishes in the cross-border
diocese, weekly collections were down due to the
recession and running costs were up.
"Every avenue will be explored to keep church
buildings open but nevertheless, people must be
aware that closure is a reality in some parishes
where there are many churches and not the means to
keep them all open.
"There would be a phased programme before we would
get to the worse case scenario,” he said. |
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Fr Michael Canny. |
Fr Canny, who was
speaking on behalf of Bishop of Derry, Dr Seamus
Hegarty, said any church buildings closed in future,
would be put in the care of lay pastoral councils.
"We are going through a process of forming pastoral
councils in the diocese. The hope is that these lay
councils would take ownership and responsibility for
their local church building. While there might not
be many services, the buildings could still be
heated and maintained for occasional services like
funerals and weddings.”
Buncrana parish priest Fr John Walsh recently warned
he would have to cut staff wages due to financial
pressures while Fr John Farren last week issued
letters to parishioners in Iskaheen, Muff, warning
them that the parish was becoming unsustainable.
The diocese of Derry is the fourth largest in
Ireland with 51 parishes in counties Derry, Tyrone,
Donegal and a small part of Antrim.
Fr Canny said the diocese had no plans to introduce
lay deacons, unlike some other dioceses around the
country.
Meanwhile, Mass attendance is down to about 20 per
cent in some Derry city parishes and is down to 30
per cent from its height in some parishes on the
Inishowen peninsula.
While the diocese has no immediate plans to
amalgamate any parishes, priests will have to
“cluster” their resources in future as older clerics
retire and are not replaced, added Fr Canny.
This would take the form of neighbouring parishes
operating a pool of available priests for Masses,
funerals, weddings and sick visits. The number of
Masses would also likely be cut.
Some parish priests, particularly in rural parts,
are already relying on retired clerics to help them
out on a weekly basis, he said.
It is a similar picture in parishes throughout
Ireland as they report a drop in income due to the
recession and falling Mass attendances further hit
by emigration.
Fr Canny said the value of the 13 per cent annual
income levy paid by each parish to the bishop was
down for some parishes but had remained static for
others. |
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