The Deacon's Bench
Protests over the proposed introduction of a male-only lay ministry in the Catholic diocese of Killaloe have forced the local bishop to back down and postpone the move.
In a letter read out in parishes on Sunday, Bishop Kieran O’Reilly acknowledged the concerns raised by lay women and groups in the western diocese about the permanent diaconate.
The move came after Kathleen McDonnell, a member a parish pastoral council in west Clare, had criticised the move to set up the men-only lay ministry and had called on the diocese to create a ministry for all.
It also provoked a poster campaign opposing the new ministry which appeared on parish noticeboards across the diocese.
It comes as over half of Killaloe’s 82 priests are now aged 66 or older and between them they minister to 56 parishes across Co Clare as well as parts of Offaly, Laois, Tipperary and Limerick.
In his letter, Bishop O’Reilly told his flock that in light of the conversations held over the past weeks: “I will not now proceed with the introduction of the permanent diaconate at this time in the diocese.”
It is understood that a number of men had already put themselves forward for consideration as candidates for training to become deacons.
Once again, the secular press has shown its ignorance, referring repeatedly to the “lay ministry” of the deacon.
As a footnote: I’ve heard similar stories about the restoration of the diaconate as a permanent order in the United States—that some bishops, in the early 1970s, declined to start formation programs in their dioceses because they didn’t want to introduce another level of Holy Orders that did not include women. History, it seems, may be repeating itself. The situation in Ireland, however, is quite different; the need for ordained ministers there is especially acute, and the Church is in real peril.
Stay tuned.
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