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  Sunday Mass Collections May Pay for Clerical Abuse Claims

By Jim Morahan
Irish Examiner [Ireland]
Downloaded March 22, 2005

SUNDAY Mass collections may be used to help meet clerical abuse costs which are expected to reach -25 million over the next five years.

Abuse claims cost nearly -5m in the last two years, the Catholic Church revealed this week.

During the period the country's 26 dioceses contributed -6.3m to the central fund.

Irish bishops have announced a review of the central fund, declaring its coffers were "almost depleted".

New resources "need to be provided", said the bishops. The fund, named the Stewardship Trust, was set up in 1996 with the four archbishops as trustees.

Rev John Littleton, president of the National Conference of Priests of Ireland (NCPI), said if property and reserves were not sufficient to meet the demands, new means of raising the money would have to be used.

Asked if that meant the Sunday Mass collection could be used, he said he believed no area was sacrosanct in terms of being used to fund clerical abuse costs.

"I wouldn't see anything as sacrosanct," he said.

"But there needs to be absolute clarity and transparency, because the bottom line is that if there's money that is due to people for compensation claims or for counselling or other purposes in relation to this whole matter, the money has got to be got somewhere.

"We would be suggesting that the way to raise funds and the way to deal with all of this is by bishops, priests and lay people working together; where everyone is respected and where there is no secrecy." Eight months ago, Fr Littleton pointed out, the NCPI recommended the bishops adopt a policy of openness and transparency regarding allocation of funding for abuse compensation.

"We feel what has to happen is that the bishops have to be very honest with priests and people; explain what exactly the needs of the fund are; and the bishops should not be burdened with the task either through themselves or by others of having to solve the problem on their own.

"I think they need to seek the financial expertise that is there among the lay people.

"If they involve the lay people and the priests in that, they will receive plenty of goodwill. But it all hinges on transparency and openness," said Fr Littleton.

Since 1996 the Stewardship Trust contributed to compensation settlements for 143 people relating to abuse by 36 priests, amounting to -8.77m. This figure included -2.53m in legal costs. The majority of payments were made in the last two years -1.9m in 2003 and -2.9m last year.