The Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference ( ga, Comhdháil Easpag Caitliceach Éireann) is the

episcopal conference An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The first assembly of bishops to ...

of the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

bishops in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The conference meets a number of times a year in

Maynooth Maynooth (; ga, Maigh Nuad) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's ...

which is the location of St Patrick's College, Ireland's national

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

. While each

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

is autonomous in his own

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

, meetings of the conference give bishops a chance to discuss issues of mutual concern, or issues of national policy.

Background

In the Catholic Church, an

is an official assembly of all the bishops of a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities, but were first established as formal bodies by the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

('' Christus Dominus'', 38), and implemented by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

's 1966 ''

motu proprio In law, ''motu proprio'' (Latin for "on his own impulse") describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term ''sua sponte'' for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a ...

'' ''Ecclesiae sanctae''. The operation, authority, and responsibilities of episcopal conferences are currently governed by the

1983 Code of Canon Law The 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'' (abbreviated 1983 CIC from its Latin title ''Codex Iuris Canonici''), also called the Johanno-Pauline Code, is the "fundamental body of ecclesiastical laws for the Latin Church". It is the second and current comp ...

(see especially canons 447–459). The nature of episcopal conferences, and their magisterial authority in particular, was subsequently clarified by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

's 1998 ''motu proprio'' '' Apostolos suos''. Certain tasks and authority are assigned to episcopal conferences, particularly with regard to setting the liturgical norms for the Mass. Episcopal conferences receive their authority under universal law or particular mandates. In certain circumstances, as defined by

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

, the decisions of an episcopal conference are subject to ratification from the Holy See. Individual bishops do not relinquish their authority to the conference, and remain responsible for the governance of their respective diocese. The Conference owns the publisher and retailer Veritas Communications.

Composition

The Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference is made up of the 26 Irish diocesan bishops ( ordinaries) and a number of auxiliary bishops. The conference membership extends to both government jurisdictions on the island of Ireland, the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

Structure

Beneath the Bishops' Conference are the regional or provincial meetings of bishops. Episcopal conferences are generally defined by geographic borders, with all the bishops in a given country belonging to the same conference – which might also include neighboring countries. The Archbishop of Armagh, as Primate of All Ireland, chairs the Conference. Much of the work of the Conference is done in committees which cover issues such as laity, liturgy, family, social justice. Each committee is chaired by a bishop, though not always an ordinary.

Presidency

By convention, the Archbishop of Armagh as the most-senior churchman in Ireland, presides and is the principal spokesman. This tradition has prevailed even when the Archbishop of Dublin is a cardinal and the Archbishop of Armagh is not a member of the College of Cardinals.

List of presidents

Political activity

Abortion

In keeping with Catholic views on

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

, the Conference campaigns against the legalisation of abortion. It called for a "Yes" vote in the 2002 abortion referendum which would have overturned the 1992 X Case judgement. It called the proposal ''"an opportunity not to be lost"'' The Conference condemned the

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013 The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013 ( Act No.35 of 2013; previously Bill No.66 of 2013) was an Act of the Oireachtas which, until 2018, defined the circumstances and processes within which abortion in Ireland could be legally perfor ...

Extraordinary general meetings

*April 2002 –

Ferns Report The Ferns Report (2005) was an official Irish government inquiry into the allegations of clerical sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns in County Wexford, Ireland. Scope The Inquiry was set up by the Government of Ireland to identi ...

and resignation of Bishop Brendan Comiskey *October 2005 – publication of the National Board for Safeguarding Children report on child protection in the Cloyne diocese *January 2009 – publication of the National Board for Safeguarding Children report on child protection in the Cloyne diocese. *Friday 22 January 2010 – anticipation of the forthcoming pastoral letter from

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

to the faithful of Ireland after the Ryan and Murphy reports.

References

External links

Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference
official website

GCatholic.org website {{Authority control Episcopal conferences Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland All-Ireland organisations