An organisation that found the majority of Irish Catholics want to ordain women and allow priests to marry is meeting on Monday to discuss the future of the Church.
The Association of Catholic Priests (ACP), which represents 850 of Ireland's 4,500 priests, has been accused by the Vatican of breaking away from the pope's teachings.
In April they surveyed 1,000 Catholics in the north and south of Ireland, and said they wanted to discuss the "issues" raised, such as the church's teachings on sexuality.
The meeting comes after a priest in Australia shocked his Church by announcing he has been secretly married for a year - and claimed that the religious rules which call for priests to be celibate encourages pedophiles to join the clergy.
Father Kevin Lee, a priest for 20 years, told Australia's 7 News he "fell in love", and said "there are more like me, in fact most of them.'
Cardinal Sean Brady, the leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland, is also facing chorus of calls for his resignation after allegations that he knew five children were being abused in 1975 by a paedophile priest.