Fr Vard will take personal leave of absence with effect from Friday, 18 September

Bishop Denis Nulty said the changes were “against the backdrop of an ever-changing pastoral environment with fewer priests and an aging cohort”

Fr Jim worked as a mechanic before joining the priesthood in 1985

A new training programme has been developed to equip laypeople with the essential skills they need to serve as lay pastoral ministers

A TOTAL of 65 children and teens were allegedly sexually abused by 31 individuals in Kildare schools run by religious orders over the period they operated in the county.