CATHOLIC clergy along the Fermanagh border, where parishes span county boundaries, are getting worried about the impact Brexit will have on parochial life.
Fr John Chester, Parish Priest in Roslea and Mgr Richard Morgan, Parish Priest in Clones and former prior at Lough Derg, have both expressed their fears for what the UK’s departure from the EU will mean for their parishioners.
Fr. Chester, speaking to The Irish Catholic, said there is a lot of uncertainty in his parish, where people don’t know if there is going to be a hard border or not.
He fears a return to the separation of the past.
‘To some extent the border dictated a lot of life during the Troubles here,’ he said.
‘So for example, the services you’d put on in the chapel here in Roslea in Fermanagh you’d have to also put them on in the chapel in Smithboro in Monaghan, which is in the southern end of the parish.
‘You would also find neither side really gelled in a way, because the border did keep them apart. The check points that were there during the Troubles made life very, very difficult.’
Mgr Mohan has similar fears for his parish, which also spans both Fermanagh and Monaghan.
‘I’m concerned about the fact our parish is divided by the border and the ease with which we can move from North to South,’ he said.
‘People have to cross many times throughout the day.’
Mgr Mohan added that as time goes on and yet no agreement has been reached on the final Brexit deal, the speculation of what the future might bring was mounting.
He said, however, the challenges were ‘not insurmountable’.
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