Experience outside clergy will serve him well, says Fr Barry

Today, Bishop of Meath, Most Rev Dr Tom Deenihan, has ordained Barry White, as a priest.

Fr Barry White (31) said, in an interview with the Meath Chronicle before his ordination, that he hopes his life experience outside the clergy will serve him well in his new role.

For Fr Barry, faith and prayer have always been central to his life, from his early years attending Mass at his parish church in Rushwee to his time as a student in St Patrick’s Classical School in Navan.

Studying theology in Maynooth was a natural progression for the budding clergyman but after six years in the seminary, Barry felt he needed to take time out to “be in the world” and defer his dream of becoming a priest.

Having been a deacon in Navan for the last three years, the Rathkenny man says he is sure that serving the community is his life’s calling and hopes to bring something fresh to the vocation that has seen a drastic decline in those entering the clergy over the last number of decades.

“I hope to bring enthusiasm, I hope to bring an energy,” he said.

“I hope there’s encouragement to see someone young come into the priesthood.

“I want to preach the Gospel in a way that will speak to people’s hearts. I want to speak to people and try to offer them a message of hope, consolation or support for their daily lives.”

Barry spent six years in the seminary and took on different parish placements, including working in hospitals in New York as a trainee chaplain, but stopped short of becoming a priest: “I was coming towards ordination in 2015 and I just didn’t feel ready.

“Something in me just said, I think you need to take time out and just try and figure out what you really want. I decided to leave in 2015 and went to Trinity College and trained to become a teacher.

“After that I left, I drew a line in the priesthood and thought do you know what I’ll enjoy my teaching, start a new life and possibly meet someone and get married and just get on with life.

“I came to a point in my seminary where I was close to making that sacrifice, at that stage I was 24 years of age, I was young to make a lifelong commitment in the sense that I felt I needed more life experience to go and just be in the world. I was in relationships and dated, after all of those experiences I felt drawn back to the priesthood.

“I knew what I was going back to but this time there was a greater confidence and more peace of mind but also acknowledging this is a challenge, I’m making a promise of celibacy, obedience and a commitment to a life time of prayer and service.

“The church is not exactly thriving in Ireland at the moment, so they are the challenges.”

The challenge is one the Catholic Church is in the process of taking on, said Barry: “There’s a movement within the Church that Pope Francis started on a universal level and we as national and local Church here in Ireland have engaged with basically bringing people together from different backgrounds in parish life and beyond parish life, those who are not Mass goers that are encouraged to become part of the process and express their opinions and concerns.

“There is a decline in vocations, an ageing clergy and not much young blood coming through. The abuse crisis diminished the credibility of the church, there is a lack of trust and a certain level of suspicion towards the church because of the past.

“In the past there was quite a domineering, powerful model that people experienced and were hurt by, starting from a point of humility and integrity, we are engaging with people, listening to people, having compassion towards people and to follow that model of Christ that we see in the scriptures and going back to the source in that way and being true to the gospel message,” he says.

“Within the church there is a sacrament and encounter with Christ but often there is that stumbling block of the Catholic Church and the understanding of the institution. That process has to go through a purification or a renewal.”

A south Dublin priest has warned that the Catholic Church would have to “face reality” on allowing priests to marry to combat the shortage of new clergy, something Barry believe may be examined the future.

“After my life experience and time out teaching, I had time to think about making that sacrifice of celibacy and for me I have made it my own, I have been called by God to live this way of life, a way of life that makes me available to his people.

“Being in Navan in the last three years, I’ve had a lot of moments of confirmation in terms of the decision I’ve made.

“St Peter was married, other disciples were married, St Paul advocated for living the single life to be more available.

“It is a man-made tradition but many people in the history of the church have lived celibacy and have lived spiritually fruitful lives and guided so many people through their example of being available to people.

“There is a wisdom in celibacy but I also feel that it is not a closed question and I think it’s something that is going to be reviewed the future.”

Barry is excited to begin his new life serving his community.

“I’ve been a deacon for the last year here in Navan and it has been a privilege offering comfort to people in difficult situations,” he said.

“ You are meeting bereaved families in their homes; you are on a journey with a family from the moment of death to the graveside. I learned a lot from that experience and I look forward to comforting people in those moments.”