Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference

Role | Departments | Members | General Meetings

Role of the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference

The Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference (also known as the Irish Episcopal Conference) is the assembly of the Bishops of Ireland exercising together certain pastoral offices for Christ's faithful on the whole island of Ireland.

The Conference consists of a General Assembly and a Standing Committee together with various commissions, agencies, councils and other bodies. Day to day operations are overseen by a secretariat. The Conference enables the Bishops to exchange views, and share their wisdom and experience in order to promote the common good of the Church in Ireland.

The current membership of the Irish Bishops' Conference comprises the 26 Bishops of the dioceses of Ireland together with the seven auxiliary Bishops. General Meetings of the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference normally take place on a quarterly basis.

The Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference seeks to build effective consensus among the Bishops, thereby contributing to the unity of the Church in communion with Pope Benedict XVI. Through its links with the Church in neighbouring countries and across the world, it strengthens and enriches efforts to increase faith and proclaim the Gospel message to all nations. At the same time, the Conference fully respects the personal authority, responsibility and ministry of each individual Bishop within his own diocese.

Departments of the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference

To help it fulfil its aims more effectively, the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference has established various commissions, agencies, councils and other bodies which focus on specific tasks and areas of responsibility within the mission of the Church. These are grouped into five departments as follows: