Tag: Decline

The number of priestly ordinations in Ireland has dipped below England and Wales for the first time in living memory, new figures reveal.

The recruitment crisis is a clear indication of how low the church has sunk in a country that once used to export Catholic missionaries to all corners of the globe and often provided Britain with a significant proportion of its priests.

“Lord God, we live in disturbing days: across the world prices rise, debts increase, banks collapse, jobs are taken away, and fragile security is under threat.”