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Archbishop-elect Dermot Farrell, whom Pope Francis has chosen to succeed Archbishop Diarmuid Martin in Dublin, the largest Catholic diocese in the country, assumes his role at a time of great challenge.
The Covid-19 pandemic has closed churches to the public masses for the third time since last March, finances have fallen between 50% and 60%, while the diocese is implementing a layoff plan that eliminates talented staff in an attempt to reduce costs.
At a more general level, vocations remain rare, while a 2016 Towers Watson report showed that 57 percent of Dublin priests were over 60, weekly mass attendance in Dublin’s 198 parishes was 20-22 percent, but as low as 2-3 percent in some inner-city parishes.
Those challenges can seem daunting for a man with fewer talents than Dermot Farrell.
The job specification for Dublin should come with a health warning: Just think of the firestorm Archbishop Martin faced over the mishandling of clerical sexual abuse by his predecessors in the diocese, as the Murphy Report documents.
The pioneering work done by Dr. Martin in safeguarding paves the way for his successor to focus on issues such as reform, renewal, rebuilding the clergy and the possibility of a national synod for the Irish Church.
This would not be possible if Dr. Martin had not done his cleaning.
His strategy divided clergy and bishops alike, many of whom felt it was too much in the pocket of abuse survivors.
Among the faithful in general, he was well liked and will be missed. Archbishop Martin turned 75 in April and, as required by church law, submitted his resignation, although he had already told Pope Francis long before that his desire to retire.
If Diarmuid Martin inherited a poisonous chalice in 2003, Dermot Farrell’s glass is half full.
The appointment is one of the most important in the Irish Church involving the supervision of up to one million Catholics in what is the most secular Irish diocese.
Dr. Farrell, who was appointed Bishop of Ossory in 2018, was widely whispered that he was in line for the post in Dublin, but the Covid-19 pandemic delayed any announcements until now.
His attendance at a meeting between the Taoiseach and the four Catholic archbishops on October 28 was seen as an indication that the choice had been formally taken.
Originally from Castletown-Geoghegan, Co Westmeath, the 66-year-old has extensive experience in administration, pastoral ministry and seminary training. He was elected finance secretary to the Irish Bishops’ Conference in March 2019, a role that will fall to him when he tackles the financial crisis in Dublin.
Ordained in 1980, the incoming Dublin leader has a doctorate in theology from the Gregorian University in Rome and served for a time as director of formation at the Irish College in Rome before returning to Maynooth to lecture in moral theology. He served as a curate at Tullamore Parish while lecturing at Maynooth andd was later appointed president of St Patrick’s College Maynooth in 1996.
He retired from this position in 2007 and became pastor at Dunboyne in the Diocese of Meath.
The current president of Maynooth, Professor Michael Mullaney, said that during his tenure there, Dr. Farrell demonstrated a zeal for renewing priestly formation and praised his extraordinary work ethic, his wise stewardship and his guidance of the evolving relationship between St Patrick’s College and the then new established NUI Maynooth, now Maynooth University.
“A highly competent and innovative administrator, he will bring to his new and demanding pastoral and administrative responsibilities a new energy and vision to lead the Archdiocese of Dublin and the Church in Ireland at large,” said Professor Mullaney.
Finola Bruton, whom Bishop Farrell appointed as president of the Dunboyne Parish Pastoral Council when he was pastor there for 11 years, agreed. She told the Irish independent: “Everyone feels that the Archdiocese of Dublin is in very safe and wise hands.”
His extensive management experience has seen him serve on various boards and committees, including the Board of Allianz plc; the Board of Trustees of the National University of Ireland, Maynooth; the Theological Department of the Irish Interchurch Committee, and as National Director of the Permanent Diaconate. He is currently President of Veritas Communications.
According to Finola Bruton, wife of former Taoiseach John Bruton, the people of Dunboyne have great respect for Dermot Farrell because “he really was a good shepherd.”
“He managed to get so many people involved in the church and in various parish committees. Its main objective was to involve the laity. He’s very smart and articulate, and he also has good judgment. He’s a great listener. “
She also sees the one-time theologian as “someone who thinks ahead and thinks long and hard about where the Church is going and what we should do in the new age we live in.”
In his press conference Tuesday, Bishop Farrell proved to be a cautious man, not given to the sound bytes of the media and revealing very little about his plans for Dublin.
Shy and with a certain academic air, it remains to be seen how his personality will unfold with the simple people of Dublin city center. Although he insists that he will now be cheering for Dublin at Croke Park.
As for whether he is a natural successor to Diarmuid Martin, Finola Bruton observed: “I think Diarmuid Martin has done a very good job under very difficult circumstances, but I think Dermot Farrell will bring a new vision and energy.”
However, the censored priest Fr. Tony Flannery has expressed concern that Archbishop-elect Farrell may not be able to stand up to the traditionalist groups that campaign and are increasingly prominent in the context of the Irish church.
Archbishop-elect Farrell, according to Father Flannery, is “an ecclesiastic at heart” and will have to be more free if he is to rise to the task he now faces.
How Archbishop-elect Farrell faces the proliferation of priestless parishes, the equality of women and the power struggle between those in favor of reform in the Church and the traditionalists who oppose any change, will be a test for the man and his leadership.
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