A mass march, then a petition... now priest begs Pope to save his church
A DOMINICAN priest has made a dramatic plea to Pope Francis to allow him remain in his parish, and to keep a church in Drogheda, Co. Louth open.
Fr Jim Donleavy, 79, arranged to have a letter hand-delivered to the Pontiff, as the countdown begins to a full chapter meeting of the Dominican Order in Tallaght in June, which will decide the fate of the popular priest, the church and the priory house in which he lives.
The Dominican leaders decided in September 2014 to close down five churches and move the priests out of each priory attached to them. Four priests have acceded to the decision but Fr Donleavy with support from his parishioners is not for moving.
A petition against the closure has raised 30,000 signatures so far. And sacristan Declan Hanratty went on hunger strike for nine days. His strike only ended when it was agreed to allow Fr Donleavy and the church to remain in place but this agreement was subsequently withdrawn.
A protest march from the parish to the Order’s Dublin headquarters last August saw hundreds of parishioners offer their support by joining the elderly priest on the 57km walk.
Now Fr Donleavy has petitioned the Pope in a final bid to stay in the parish.
He said: ‘In the letter I reminded him of a quote of his that was widely circulated last year, when he said, “The Church now needs to listen to the laity.” Well we have 30,000 members of that laity asking the Dominican hierarchy to leave us in place.
‘I have asked him to please bring his influence to bear on the Master of the Dominicans in Ireland. I know if he does so, he will be listened to.
‘I’m certain if Pope Francis asks to leave things as they are, his voice will be heeded.
‘It’s not quite the last chance saloon for us, there are a number of people ready to begin a second hunger strike, but I genuinely believe it won’t come to that.
‘As of yet nobody has given us a reason as to why they want to close us down, perhaps they might care to at least explain that to the Pontiff.’