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Catholics told to boycott Church collections to fund compensation claims

Deputy says Vatican not Mass goers should pay for abuse

By
CATHAL DERVAN,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer
Published Friday, August 26, 2011, 8:19 AM
Updated Friday, August 26, 2011, 9:59 AM

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Fine Gael deputy Tom Barry urged parishioners to boycott church collections
Fine Gael deputy Tom Barry urged parishioners to boycott church collections


An Irish parliamentarian who lives in the Diocese of Cloyne has urged Catholics not to support church collections designed to ease the debt built-up by clerical sex abuse compensation cases.

Fine Gael deputy Tom Barry urged parishioners to boycott church collections after the Dublin diocese confirmed it is close to bankruptcy as a result of compensation claims.

The Dublin diocese is actively considering a levy on mass goers after paying out almost $20million in abuse claims.

Other dioceses, including Cloyne, may follow suit according to Barry who has urged church-goers not to fund the compensation pay-outs.

Barry told the Irish Examiner that: “Hard-pressed Catholic families should not have to pay for the failure of the hierarchy to prevent some priests from abusing children.”

He also said: “The Catholic Church could easily foot the bill itself by selling off one or two of the treasures it possessed in Rome.

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“The Church also has huge assets in this country as well which it could sell off.”
A married father of three who regularly attends Mass, Barry said he would urge Catholics to tell their priests that the Church should fund such settlements from its own resources.

“As a practicing Catholic I have absolutely no objection to providing money for the genuine upkeep of churches and I would regularly contribute. I have no problem putting my hand in my pocket for such things,” he added.

“But already cash-strapped families shouldn’t have to contribute to a shortfall which resulted from pay-outs to abuse victims because of failings of the hierarchy.

“It is the whole system of the Catholic Church hierarchy which is the problem. They shouldn’t isolate that problem to Ireland. Therefore, any shortfalls in diocesan funds here should be made up by the Vatican.”

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65 Comments

15 - 65 | See all comments

supersurvivor77 | Sep 02, 2011, 08:11 PM EDT
CATHOLICABUSESURVIVORSNI.COM---the penny is beginning to drop for the mass attending catholics as they always have had any money they paid for false indugences being squandered on any whim of the church ,trillions would be closer to the mark as cathoils are the continuing victims of this scam unbiblical religion.

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SingleDonald | Sep 02, 2011, 12:07 PM EDT
I understand, AbusedNJ. I would like to see the untruth which you refer to. I have posted on this website how the sisters who taught me regularly fix the $50 Fifty-Fifty Raffle, at their annual Awards Luncheon. This is, of course quite benign, compared to pedophilia, yet it demonstrates the deceitfulness and greed of a segment of the Catholic Clergy. I'm sure the Catholic Church is not alone, as I have heard of pedophilia occuring in Protestant & Jewish venues. I still go to church, but see no need to run to Confession for the silly things I was guilt ridden about, as a teenager! It's all about power & control: the more we run to Confession, the greater is the guilt inspired by the Church, over normal things, including human sexuality. Guilty parishioners then see a need to expunge their guilt, and the Church is the one to provide it. There comes (or should come) a time in every man or woman's life when he/she realizes that normal things are not sins, therefore there is no need to feel guilt ridden. When that happens, the Church has lost some of its control over its people-Thank God!

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Abused.N.I | Aug 31, 2011, 05:31 PM EDT
"In response to singleDonald,If anyone is guilty of deception,it is the Roman Catholic Church with its false rules and laws,It is they who challenge God himself,for the church of Rome tries to put itself up above God,claiming that they are like God,and only they are speaking God's words and truth. I'm not speaking as a fundamentalist or as a evangelical,but as A former Roman Catholic,who was brought-up with the church's lies and untruths. Here is one of them(I have many,if you want to see them).

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seanomelbourne | Aug 30, 2011, 07:51 PM EDT
I wonder when Jacer confesses sins if he worries that the priest may be a pedaphile.

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jacersagain | Aug 30, 2011, 06:21 PM EDT
I haven’t had time to look back in on this topic til now but wow..! Didn’t expect such a kick-back...! Well, perhaps I should have... for just being unafraid to be a Catholic despite the RCC’s human faults. But hey hang on you lot! Sorry, sorry, sorry... I ain’t falling for this like some of you have but JuneAnnette’s post shows her talent for warping extracts to mean what was not meant (I have previously, under other topics, highlighted how JA - or more likely, her mentor - even misrepresents extracted verses from the Holy Bible to support wayward arguments). I am quite satisfied that I did not ever say that abused people should not be compensated. I have never defended the RCC’s human failings, ever. The excerpt that JA quoted was written in context of another article and as part of a two-part response to comments by others under that topic. Now I say to JuneAnnette that she should apologise to me for her outrageous misrepresentation.

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JuneAnnette | Aug 30, 2011, 03:13 PM EDT
AbusedNI . . Here's another gem . . what follows is a sampling of the self-serving policies of the RC “church” designed to deter criticism of any kind by “the faithful” of the “church” and of her “spiritual rulers”, and intended to preserve the myth that their priests, bishops, cardinals & pope are “holier than thou”! ***CONTINUED . . Richard Sipe, former R.C. Priest, who has served as a consultant or expert witness in 173 cases of sexual abuse of minors by Roman Catholic clergy, usually on behalf of plaintiffs states: 37 Cardinals make a vow to the Pope to keep secret anything confided to them that if revealed would cause harm or dishonor to the church. ["I vow…not to reveal to anyone what is confided to me in secret, nor to divulge what may bring harm or dishonor to Holy Church"] That promise of secrecy forms a template within the clerical system to keep internal scandalous behavior under wraps, "for the good of the Church." Another moral teaching of Catholic theology is “Mental Reservation.” Father B. U. Gormless, S.J., defines mental reservation as “an unspoken intention to limit one’s compliance with a contract one is overtly entering into.” This moral doctrine has also been employed to “deny the whole truth” to those who have no right to it or to avoid “greater harm.”***Source / Article: AN OVERVIEW OF THE SYSTEM OF SEXUAL ACTIVITY AND ABUSE WITHIN THE CLERICAL CULTURE OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE USA

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JuneAnnette | Aug 30, 2011, 03:11 PM EDT
AbusedNI . . Here's another gem . . what follows is a sampling of the self-serving policies of the RC “church” designed to deter criticism of any kind by “the faithful” of the “church” and of her “spiritual rulers”, and intended to preserve the myth that their priests, bishops, cardinals & pope are “holier than thou”! ***Richard Sipe, former R.C. Priest, who has served as a consultant or expert witness in 173 cases of sexual abuse of minors by Roman Catholic clergy, usually on behalf of plaintiffs states: 36. Secrecy is an unwritten but clear code within the clerical system. The clerical system often extends its prerogative of sacramental confessional confidentiality beyond law or reason to include any material it wishes to keep secret to preserve its image and at times for its convenience. A bishop responded, "I only lie when I have to" when chided by a priest for denying abuse that the bishop knew about. That modus operendi and justification for deception is common. This rationalization is often justified by the traditional moral doctrine of Mental Reservation. Literally this means that one does not have responsibility to tell the truth to one who does not have a right to it. The motivation to save the reputation of the church and the priesthood from scandal has been paramount since the Protestant Reformation. Caution about scandal is frequent in canon law (29 times). The dictum "not to give scandal" is impressed upon students in Catholic education as early as the first grade.***Source / Article: AN OVERVIEW OF THE SYSTEM OF SEXUAL ACTIVITY AND ABUSE WITHIN THE CLERICAL CULTURE OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE USA

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SingleDonald | Aug 30, 2011, 11:31 AM EDT
Thanks, Abused.N.I. ! This is similar to the fundamentalists (who call themselves "Evangelicals") saying that anything against their rigid interpretation of the bible is a deception from the "Prince of Darkness"! Anything that challenges their "authority" is the "devil's influence"! Well, maybe their "devil" is not the bat winged monster he has been made out to be. Maybe, to use the Star Wars analogy, he was/is merely attempting to challence the oppressive rule of an "Evil Empire". Such a rule that makes even minor or non transgressions out to be "damnable offenses". Really, healthy challenges to Catholic or Evalgellical rigid dogma come from rational human beings, who can't accept a religion which seeks to control their every thought, word, and deed! To paraphrase Founding Father, Patrick Henry, 'If this be "blasphemy", let's make the most of it!"

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Abused.N.I | Aug 30, 2011, 08:06 AM EDT
One of the wrong things for a Catholic to do is question their laws and rules,As a former catholic member that is what I did,and realised,how wrong and false some of these laws are,just look at these two gems,found them in one of the many Catholic church law books I have,it will give you some insight into the catholic church's brain-washing of its members. (1)='TO GO AGAINST THE HOLY CHURCH IS TO GO AGAINST GOD'. (2)='TO QUESTION THE AUTHORITY OF THE HOLY CHURCH IS A SACRILEGE'.(Sin or Blasphemy)

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Abused.N.I | Aug 29, 2011, 04:21 PM EDT
Thanks for your comment JuneAnnette,I love the gospel hymn-'AMAZING GRACE'It reminds me of my life in the Roman Catholic church. 'ONCE I WAS BLIND',Blind to the evil within the church,that of the abuse of children,Blind to how much people within the church would go to to protect these evil abusers. 'BUT NOW I SEE'.Now I can see,the church for what it is,they took away my childhood and my innocence.Now I can see,how they brain-washed my Mother,Father,Brothers and Sisters with threats of Hell and Damnation,if they stood up for me.Now I can see,how they would put the rights of the abusers first before any rights of the abused.Now I can see how their empty words for what they are.

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JuneAnnette | Aug 29, 2011, 02:19 PM EDT
Abused.NI . . Unarguably this is one CRUSADE that is wholly compatible with Christian principles and in the Christian spirit of brotherly love, and is embraced in what Christ said was the 2nd greatest commandment, namely, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” (Matt. 22:39)*** As the parable of the GOOD SAMARITAN also plainly teaches . . we are to be our “brother's keeper”! ( Luke 10:25-37)***You can rest assured . . yours is a just and righteous cause! Those who pursue justice for the oppressed and afflicted are acting in conformity with TRUE CHRISTIANITY as God defines it in HIS precious Word!***Exodus 22:22-23: “Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry . . “***May God be pleased to use your courageous stand in SPEAKING OUT and in advocating for the VICTIMS of RC CLERGY ABUSE, who for too long have been intimidated into SILENCE by the BULLIES of ROME, to embolden others to do likewise!***God's Word as it is found in Eccl. 3:7: "A TIME TO KEEP SILENCE, AND A TIME TO SPEAK"***May the Righteous Judge of all the Earth be pleased as well to bring the uncensored . . unedited account of these unspeakable crimes to light! In Christian love & solidarity, JuneAnnette

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Abused.N.I | Aug 29, 2011, 01:46 PM EDT
Thanks JuneAnnette for all your comments,it is you,and good people like you,who are our champions,it is ones like you that have helped us the abused alot for standing up for us and speaking out against the injustices inflicted upon the Abused by the Catholic Church.The church and the state will do anything to protect these abusers instead of handing them over to law,they keep moving them from place to place,to abuse children over and over again,All Abused victims are looking forward to this report coming out.It will highlight just how much the cover-up went on,and too what scale,its the same in every county North and South of the border of Ireland.

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JuneAnnette | Aug 29, 2011, 12:15 PM EDT
AbusedNI . . postscript re: County Donegal . . it would appear that what we have hear is CROOKED COPS & CROOKED CLERGY IN CAHOOTS! I'm bettin' the COPS were COMMITTED CATHOLICS who COLLABORATED, CONSPIRED, COLLUDED and CONNIVED to keep these CRIMES COVERED UP . . in the interest of preserving the image of their "church" of course. They of course would tell you . . "the end justifies the means", another clever ploy along the lines of "mental reservation" to rationalize LYING! I wonder if these CLOWNS have a CONSCIENCE?

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JuneAnnette | Aug 29, 2011, 11:53 AM EDT
AbusedNI . . your courageous stand to be SILENT NO MORE is one which I hope will embolden other RC abuse survivors to emulate. You are not alone . . Article: 'Catholic clergy 'abused children for decades in County Donegal' / Source: Guardian-UK / Aug. 29, 2011 / EXCERPT: John O'Donnell, who says he was abused between the ages of nine and 15 by a man who sang in a local church choir in County Donegal. "He assaulted me from when I was nine until I was 15, until I was old enough to know it was wrong. This man took advantage because I was adopted and regarded as something lower than most kids in the area. The abuse took place at his home and in a shop he ran. It went on from 1965 to 1972." County Donegal in Ireland is about to have its bucolic image shattered by a report into how paedophiles, both clergy and laity, abused children for decades.An investigation into clerical sex abuse in the Catholic diocese of Raphoe in County Donegal is about to report its findings, which are expected to be damning. Meanwhile, new evidence has emerged from victims of a parallel paedophile ring operating in the same Gaelic-speaking corner of the Irish Republic.A number of survivors of abuse have told the Guardian that lay members of the church as well as priests sexually exploited them for years in the county.And as with the expected conclusion of the report into Raphoe, they say the national police service, the Garda, was complicit in a culture of cover-up that allowed the perpetrators to carry on abusing them.***In solidarity with the VICTIMS of Roman Catholic Clergy Abuse, JuneAnnette

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Abused.N.I | Aug 29, 2011, 10:45 AM EDT
Also Jacersagain,I would like to point out this to you and all who try their best to defend the church.for many years I've stayed silent about the abuse that I suffered by the hands of the church of Rome,but no longer,I'm not scared or frighten of them anymore and will continue to fight for the rights of all the abused,and will try my best to open the eyes of everyone to the truth and the lies of the church of Rome.(So I guess I'll not be put forward for a Saint in years to come lol)Also I feel that so-called defenders of the catholic church like youself would just love to bring back the Inquisition and burn all of us,who speak out the truth about the church,at the stake as Heretics.

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