A chara, – The Catholic Church has indeed stooped to a new low in asking parishioners to foot the bill for compensation to victims of child sex abuse. Are the donations they place in the basket every Sunday not enough?
However, we are still missing the key point.
Are members of the clergy not people too? Are they not subject to the same laws as lay people? When will the State face its responsibility and prosecute the perpetrators of child sex abuse? Only then will the victims receive true justice and perhaps we will finally see an end to the impunity which Catholic clergy have taken for granted for centuries. – Is mise,
Madam, – Amid all the doom, gloom and despair of the current times it is refreshing to see someone come up with a positive proposal that could actually make a difference.
I salute Sinead O’Connor, and can assure her that in the unlikely event that He does return I too would be happy to assist in burning down the Vatican. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – No doubt Bishop Denis Brennan will find Catholics in his diocese who will answer his appeal. They belong to that group of faithful who are convinced that they belong to the one, true Catholic Church.
Their salvation and the continuity of this organisation depends on their support. It is nothing less than a form of spiritual blackmail.
Some of your readers believe that the clergy in the diocese are on a “modest” salary. In a county steeped in racing, would it not be appropriate for the clergy who go to the Cheltenham festival to miss it this year as a gesture to the abused of the diocese?
Bishop Denis Brennan has asked the laity to fork out. Let him go to his own clergy first before he foists it on the laity. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The moral issues surrounding the call by the Bishop of Ferns for assistance in dealing with the costs and expense of child abuse are one thing, but I would hesitate to support an organisation which is not transparent about its finances.
I am not aware of any Irish diocese which publishes meaningful financial information about its assets, liabilities, income and expenditure. Surely this should now be done so that people can assess and judge the apparent need in a more meaningful context? – Yours, etc,