Bishop of Cork and Ross: ‘As we plan in to the future, we want everybody to be part of that conversation'

The Catholic Church in Cork and Ross needs all of the faithful in the diocese to come together in prayer and listening at a time of great change, Bishop Fintan Gavin has said.

“We want to hear from everybody,” Bishop Gavin said. “This is a listening process of the Church in Cork and Ross.

“As we plan in to the future, we want everybody to be part of that conversation, with God at the centre of it, rather than us just trying to muddle our own way through it,” the bishop told The Echo.

Last weekend, in a pastoral letter read out in Masses throughout the diocese, Bishop Gavin said that priests continued to deal with unprecedented change, while parishioners were understandably concerned about their parishes’ future.

“Many have a strong attachment to their local church; some worry about the sustainability of their preferred Mass times; and some communities miss having a resident priest,” he wrote.

Saying it was clear that the Church would have a greater role and opportunities for lay leaders in the future, Bishop Gavin said that challenges could only be addressed together.

“The Holy Spirit guides us as we listen to one another.

“To respond to the mission of the future, we need a period of prayer and listening.”

Speaking to The Echo, the bishop said there was “a bigger plan and a bigger picture” at work for the Catholic Church and, he said, his pastoral letter had been “hope-filled, but also built on realism and honest and transparency”.

“It’s trying to offer an invitation to all of us, young and old, big and small, whoever you are, that are part of our faith community.

“It’s not about what I want for myself, as much as what’s God calling me to be, so that we can hand on the good news that we have to the next generation,” he said.

He added that culture did not support the Catholic faith to the extent that it had been supported in the past.

“That doesn’t mean that the message is any less important. If anything, it is more important,” he said.