The title of the piece is 'Restructuring for Mission'.
The Irish Dominican province has approximately 105 men over the age of 60.
"News of a restructuring plan for the Irish Dominican friars was announced at Masses in Dominican churches in Ireland on 20th & 21stSeptember.
While vocations have been flourishing for more than a decade providing subsequently an average of more than one new priest per year and with a large number of ordinations expected within five years, withdrawal from certain communities and churches was still found necessary at a meeting held in Tallaght, County Dublin, in mid-September.
Inspite of the healthy vocations situation in the present Irish context, the profile of the Irish Dominican Province is such as to no longer permit staffing all the commitments which were possible until recently due to the exceptional vocations of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.
Restructuring will permit the recent increase in vocations to respond more effectively to the present pastoral challenges in Ireland and priorities have been set to facilitate and encourage that. The restructuring will also permit a strong and supportive home life for the friars which has been increasingly difficult to provide, yet is an essential component of the Dominican vocation.
At present, the Irish Dominican Province has 11 priests aged between 50 and 59, six priests aged between 40 and 49 and eight priests aged under 40. The under-40 cohort of priests is expected to expand significantly in the next couple of years with the ordination of some student brothers at present studying theology. The average annual intake of men wishing to test their vocation has been almost three for the past 15 years and that intake has provided an average of slightly more than one priestly ordination per year. The time between initial intake and priestly ordination is about seven years."
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