ANOTHER Kerry parish is to be left without a resident priest while a sprawling rural parish will have to manage without a curate to work with the parish priest, it has emerged.
Fr John Shanahan, the long-serving PP in Valentia, is retiring and his duties will now be carried out by visiting priests from neighbouring parishes, under the direction of Canon Larry Kelly in Caherciveen.
In Rathmore, meanwhile, curate Fr Kevin McNamara is transferring to Moyvane leaving PP Fr Pat O’Donnell to manage all services in the four local churches, Rathmore, Gneeveguilla, Knocknagree and Shrone.
Fr Shanahan is one of three priests to retire while another, outgoing diocesan secretary Fr Donal O’Neill, is going a sabbatical.
Two priests have been appointed as full-time chaplains to Kerry General Hospital and the Institute of Technology in Tralee.
“Sadly this year, owing to the decrease in numbers of priests, there will be two less priests working in parish ministry,” Bishop Ray Browne confirmed.
“In one situation a parish will be without a resident priest, in the other without a curate.”
He said priests in the pastoral areas, the pastoral area councils and the team from the diocesan pastoral centre will work with the parishes affected to ensure services continue.
Bishop Browne remarked: “I am full of admiration for all our parishes and our priests. For many years now our priests have been greatly challenged to find ways of coping with the extra workload involved in having less and less priests, and then to adjust their lives to the full implications of these new ways.
“At every stage they are supported by the thousands of people in our diocese who are wholeheartedly involved in their own parish and many at pastoral area and diocesan level as well.”
The bishop said despite the manpower shortage, there is much to give confidence for the challenges that lie ahead and there are four students from the diocese currently studying for the priesthood in Maynooth.
