I warmly welcome Pope Francis’s appointment of Bishop Paul Dempsey as
Titular Bishop of Sita, and Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin. I am very
grateful to the Holy Father, Pope Francis, and to His Excellency
Archbishop Montemayor, Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland, for facilitating my
request to appoint another Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese. I am
also grateful for Bishop Dempsey’s willingness to minister among us and
for us, the people and priests of the Diocese of Dublin. Bishop Paul
brings the fruit and wisdom of his extensive pastoral experience, as
priest and bishop to the leadership of the Church in Dublin.
Appointed Bishop of Achonry in 2020, Paul has served with a joyful, hope-filled heart that has brought much energy and dedication to the preparation of the ongoing Synod on Synodality, as well as to the reception of Laudato Sì, Pope Francis’s prophetic call for ecological conversion in the face of the climate crisis.
Bishop Dempsey is no stranger to these parts: born in Carlow in 1971, Paul grew up in Athy which is in the Archdiocese of Dublin. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1997 for the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin, a diocese which borders Dublin and shares its demographic. There his parish ministry as priest and his service as a member of the College of Consultors made a significant contribution to the life of urban Kildare, Carlow and beyond.
To the mission and ministry of the Church in Dublin, to our work of proclaiming the promise and hope of the gospel, Bishop Paul will bring his many gifts. I have no doubt his fresh ideas, and deep motivation, his personal warmth and evident closeness to people on the ground, and his experience of ministry in the West of Ireland, will be of service in the deepening the unity of the Church in our land, and of empowering all God’s people to discern, and know the [true] joy, peace, and consolation of the Lord who has already “entered our closed places and stands among us,” as was proclaimed in last Sunday’s Gospel (John 20:19, 26).
As we remember our sisters and brothers whose lives and lands are laid waste by the blindness of war and terror, may we carry Bishop Paul in our prayer. May the Lord keep Paul and those around him close to Him in their ministry among us in the years ahead.