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Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell is planning a “radical renewal” of the archdiocese that will involve greater input from lay people in the church’s response to the needs of the community following the Covid-19 crisis.
In a homily on Holy Thursday, Archbishop Dermot Farrell announced he had established a task force to devise a strategy for a “church for the Dublin of tomorrow”.
The church community in Dublin faces “challenges which require immediate action, not least to prepare a recovery from the severe impact of the pandemic”, he said.
The task force, under the title “Building Hope”, will assess the needs of the people of the Archdiocese of Dublin, which comprises 197 parishes served by 350 active priests. Based on this analysis, the unit, composed of clergy, religious and laypeople, will prepare a “pastoral strategy” that supports faith communities to undertake a “radical renewal” that looks to the future with creativity and hope, Archbishop Farrell went on. The task force should stimulate reflection and creative thinking across the whole community to guide a conversation into the future, he said.
In a statement that echoed much of his commentary since he took up his post in February, the archbishop said clergy sometimes “overlook” that the laity are called to share in the mission and ministry of the church. The ordained ministry “does not exhaust or monopolise this ministry” and the church “must draw on many people and listen to many voices”, he said.
“Such an approach requires both humility and courage to recognise that one cannot do everything on one’s own,” he said.
A new “synodal practice” will see every church member, starting with the young, incorporated more into the life and responsibilities of the church.
“Clergy must try to walk together with women and men with ever greater enthusiasm and without thinking that we already have the best answer or all the answers,” he added.
There is an “urgency” to this project, the archbishop added, and he has asked the task force to complete its work by the end of the summer. The work will provide a “basis for moving forward together with hope”, he added.
The archbishop said he was also establishing an expert panel to examine the economic, social, and pastoral situation in Dublin, as well as the trends that will “shape our situation over the next 25 years”.