'A possible disaster': Catholic Church reckons with declining interest post-pandemic
Growing realisation in church that it was 'not really missed' during lockdown, says Bishop
Fr Martin Cosgrove saying Mass in an empty Church of the Annunciation Catholic Church in Rathfarnham, Dublin. Photograph: Aidan Crawley/ EPA
In a pastoral reflection on the future of the Catholic Church last month, one of the church’s newest and youngest bishops, Bishop of Clonfert Michael Duignan (50), pondered the challenges that lie ahead.
“I fear that we might mistakenly think that once the current Covid restrictions are lifted and once we return to public worship, everything will be all right,” said the bishop. Instead, he believes the future will be “very different”.