Laois parish pastoral meetings after 'Bull McCabe' homily
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Meeting for Catholics in Rathdowney, Durrow, Camross, Castletown, Borris-in-Ossory and Aghaboe parishes
Members of the Catholic Church across south Laois are being invited to give their views on the ongoing reconfiguration of the Ossory Diocese, which came to prominence in recent weeks with the appointment of the Bishop of Ferns to lead the church in Ossory.
Bishop Ger Nash has invited Priests, Parish Pastoral Council and Pastoral Area Council members, and all parishioners across Camross, Castletown, Seir Kieran, Borris-in-Ossory, Aghaboe, Durrow, and Rathdowney to attend an upcoming consultation meeting.
“These conversations are an opportunity to reflect together on how we can embrace the opportunities that change brings, while also acknowledging the challenges, hopes and fears that we may carry,” said a promotional poster for the Pastoral Area Consultation Meeting.
The consultation follows soon after a homily delivered by Bishop Nash, where he used the famous character from the Irish play and movie The Field to encourage all involved with the Church in Ossory to embrace the change outlined in the Diocesan Pastoral Plan.
Bishop Nash used an analogy with Bull McCabe during his official installation Mass as Bishop of Ossory in St Mary's Cathedral, Kilkenny, on Sunday, September 13.
“Like Bull McCabe in the play and movie The Field, we often look at our lives, our grievances, or our hard-earned attachments and declare: 'It’s my field. It's my child. I nursed it. I nourished it. I dug the rocks out of it with my bare hands, and I made a living thing of it.
“We frequently claim ownership over our past, fiercely guarding our grudges because we feel we have earned the right to them through sheer struggle.
“But Christ calls us to a radical letting go. True forgiveness requires us to open those clenched hands, release our rigid grip on the 'fields' of our habits, and realise that healing begins only when we surrender our entitlement to God’s grace,” he said. MORE BELOW PHOTO.
He said foundations are being laid in the Dioceses of Ossory and Ferns for a collaborative Church which needs priests and the laity ‘fully involved’.
The Diocese of Ossory has a Catholic population of 83,595. The diocese comprises 42 parishes - most of Kilkenny, six parishes in Laois, and one parish in Offaly. Ferns takes in almost all of Wexford and parts of Wicklow.
The meeting will conclude with tea, refreshments, and an opportunity for a chat, and the Diocese says all are welcome to attend on Thursday, October 8 from 7 - 9 pm.
Pope Leo XIV appointed Bishop Nash as Bishop of Ossory on 29 July 2026. Bishop Nash was already a bishop – appointed as Bishop of Ferns by Pope Francis on 11 June 2021 – and he was installed as Bishop of Ossory rather than ordained. The installation liturgy marked the moment when the Diocese of Ossory and the Diocese of Ferns are united “in persona episcopi” – in the person of the Bishop.