Cardinal Nichols stated that the Sacrament of Holy Order is based, not on a command structure, but on humble service. He said in his homily: “Service is the permanent and underlying foundation of all that is done by deacon, priest and bishop.”

Our parishes have taken to cyberspace like never before! We’ve been flooding the digital highways with Eucharistic celebration and other prayer moments  – so much so that we’ve crashed our live-feeds – Archbishop Eamon Martin.

"We may be physically isolated, but we are not separated. We are untited as the body of Christ. We are the Church," says the Assoication of Catholic Priests of Ireland.

Some 350 priests or one in four of the total number of priests ordained in Europe in 2017 were Polish.

“We were welcomed by families whose focus is now day-to-day survival and whose aspirations have been reduced to bare essentials such as electricity and clean water.”

For the eighth year running, ACN is providing Christmas parcels for displaced children, including warm clothes, shoes, toys, devotional items and other essentials.

"Until the population dialogues with their children and gives me a written guarantee of the safety of the pastors who work for them, the parishes will remain without pastors,” - Bishop Nkea.

These groupings will permit our individual parishes to become stronger, more alive, and be in a position to offer an even greater level of service in their communities – Bishop Farrell.

“Many have shared with me their outrage at what happened and frustration that ‘for all their hard work, they have to face the damage that was done, the suspicion to which it has given rise’.”

Fr Ciprian Matei, from the Archdiocese of Bucharest, Romania, is to become Curate (CC) in Portlaoise parish.

“Change is never easy, but we must face the challenge together.”

Remarks were made in jest, the President's press office claims – but three priests have been killed in targeted attacks this year.

Is it contrary to Canon Law to insist that funerals of priests accused of abuse must take place in private chapels?

There is “little sense of mission within the Catholic Church in Ireland” and no sense of what that mission should be, Bishop Dermot Farrell tells conference in Kilkenny.

“Unless there is a radical reappraisal of what a parish community should be, there can be no real progress.” —Bishop Denis Nulty

“Social media are powerful instruments yet paradoxically they can sadly become a trap for fruitless and at times even nasty internal Church polemics.”

Europe was the only continent to see a drop in its Catholic population, down by 240,000.

"Our job is primarily to support the Church in those places where it does not have the material resources to carry out its pastoral activities or where Christians are suffering from oppression, persecution and violence.”

Let us pray together that priests, who experience fatigue and loneliness in their pastoral work, may find help and comfort in their intimacy with the Lord and in their friendship with their brother priests.

"Priestly vocations are everyone’s business, but if priests, deacons, parish pastoral workers, parish council members do not lead the conversation, then who will?"

“All reasonable and fair options should be considered as possible, so this neither rules in or rules out various outcomes” – Mgr Gearoid Dullea, executive secretary to the Irish Bishops’ Conference.

“As a diocese, as a faith family, we have so much this Chrism Night to give thanks for; our priests and the witness they give, sometimes at a cost to their own health and mental well-being” - Bishop Denis Nulty.

The declining numbers of available clergy and religious lend a sense of urgency to this development.

"Those who were killed are only the tip of the iceberg, as the list of pastoral workers or Catholics, assaulted, beaten, robbed, threatened, as well as Catholic structures vandalised or looted is long," says Fides Agency.

“It is my express intention to keep all our 117 churches open. This won’t happen without support from outside Ireland. This won’t happen without lay people taking a greater role of leadership in their local faith communities,” said Bishop Nulty.

“The present situation of the shortage of vocations, the age profile of the priests and the stress associated with such realities needs serious reflection,” said Bishop Nulty.

The meeting was organised to explore ways in which the diocese can respond to the pastoral needs of parishioners in light of the declining numbers of priests.

“At present, there are 90 priests ministering in our diocese; 27 of them are over 75. This stark figure reminds us that a radical reappraisal of what a parish community should be, how it should be organised, co-ordinated, funded and ministered, is necessary.”

Over the next 13 years, 28 of our 53 diocesan priests will reach the retirement age of 75 years. By the time children baptised this year reach Confirmation our diocese will be a very different place.

One of the things I pray for every day is a sense of humour! – Pope Francis.