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Diocese of Cloyne running out of cash in wake of sex abuse scandal

Many parishes facing economic ruin as a result of abuse payouts

CATHAL DERVAN,

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Saturday, August 20, 2011, 7:49 AM

Updated Saturday, August 20, 2011, 7:49 AM

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Former Bishop of Cloyne John Magee

The Diocese of Cloyne is running out of money as it attempts to come to terms with the after-effects of the recent and controversial report into clerical sex abuse.

The Cork diocese made headlines across the world when the report highlighted a failure on behalf of church leaders to react in a proper manner to allegations of child abuse.

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny went so far as to slam the Vatican after the report claimed that the diocesan leaders failed to report the allegations to the civil authorities.

Now it has transpired that the Cloyne diocese is in financial disarray, days after the Archbishop of Dublin confirmed that his own diocese was in danger of financial wipe-out.
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A statement issued on behalf of the Diocese of Cloyne confirmed that it had sold property and used cash reserves to meet day-to-day expenses.

“Those options are now almost exhausted,” said the statement as the diocese comes to terms with the findings of the Murphy Report into the handling of abuse allegations.

When contacted by the Irish Independent, seven dioceses admitted to being under financial pressure with Cloyne one of the worst affected as it now depends on weekly collections to make ends meet.

“The finances of the diocese of Cloyne have come under extreme pressure from a number of sources over the past few years,” said the statement.

“While in the past the diocese has sold property and used reserves in order to meet its commitments, this option is almost exhausted.

“Ultimately the diocese and each parish depend on the generosity of the faithful in the weekly collections and other contributions for the funding of our activities and the meeting of our commitments. We are continually grateful for their generosity and support.”

A regular commentator, Fr Brian D’Arcy has also signaled that most dioceses around Ireland are experiencing financial difficulty. He said that the abuse scandals have done “very serious damage” to the church, especially in rural parishes.

"It has been a very difficult time for the Church’s finances. Collections are, generally speaking, falling all over the country and people are asking where is the this money going? And ‘why should we pay for the sins of the father’?"

Responding to the claims that Irish dioceses are running out of funds, David Clohessy, Executive Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said he remained skeptic.

“We urge citizens to take these claims of tight diocesan finances with a healthy dose of skepticism. In our experience, such claims are often designed to deter, guilt-trip and shame victims into staying silent,” he said in a statement.

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JuneAnnette | Aug 22, 2011, 12:08 PM EDT

Continued . . Bernadett wrote: “Who cares if they run out of money, . . .They should have thought of all this before they did what they did ie.COVER UP THE ABUSE ,they make me sick. Old irish saying What goes round comes round.”****RIGHT ON Bernadett!***LEST YE FORGET: OPINION of Thomas Patrick Doyle: Unless the Catholic hierarchy examines its obsession with power it cannot reform itself / Date: Sat, Jul 16, 2011 / Source: Irish Times / Excerpt: The clerical culture that cannot comprehend the depth of evil and destruction it has enabled has failed to internalise the reality that in this 21st century sacrificing the welfare of innocent children to maintain the image and power of an ecclesiastical aristocracy is a disgrace that will be the catalyst for an inevitable and profound change in the nature of the institutional church. The rapid disintegration of the absolute control of the Irish hierarchy over Irish society is the result not of the lack of faith of the Irish people, as some in ecclesiastical leadership would like to believe, but in the lack of fidelity of the leadership to the people whom they have sworn to serve. WORSE STILL WAS the use of pastoral care as a justification for protecting the accused priests at the expense of justice for the victims. The report saw the misuse of the pastoral concept as a “scheme whereby counselling was provided to the complainant in a manner which was hoped would not attract any legal liability to the diocese”.***Fr Thomas Patrick Doyle OP, a US Dominican priest with a doctorate in canon law, is a renowned and outspoken advocate for church abuse victims.

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JuneAnnette | Aug 22, 2011, 12:06 PM EDT

Bernadett wrote: “Who cares if they run out of money, . . .They should have thought of all this before they did what they did ie.COVER UP THE ABUSE ,they make me sick. Old irish saying What goes round comes round.”****RIGHT ON Bernadett!***LEST YE FORGET: **OPINION of Fr. Thomas Patrick Doyle: Unless the Catholic hierarchy examines its obsession with power it cannot reform itself / Date: Sat, Jul 16, 2011 / Source: Irish Times / Excerpt: Cardinal Seán Brady said that “grave errors of judgment were made and serious failures of leadership occurred”. Bishop John Magee admitted that the diocese “did not fully implement the procedures set out in church protocols”. What happened in Cloyne and in Ferns, Dublin, and the institutions cannot be dignified as “grave errors of judgment” or incomplete implementation of church protocols. The systemic sacrifice of the emotional, psychological and spiritual lives of innocent children for the sake of the image and power of the hierarchy was no error. The Vatican response has been the defence of the hierarchy and the scandalous lack of concern for the victims. There are the expected expressions of regret, sorrow and promise of prayers which serve only to confuse and even anger the victims and are a very thin cover for the consistent pattern of self-serving support and protection of the bishops.***Fr Thomas Patrick Doyle OP, a US Dominican priest with a doctorate in canon law, is a renowned and outspoken advocate for church abuse victims.

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SingleDonald | Aug 21, 2011, 08:18 PM EDT

Correstion: Make that "AWARDS Luncheons"!

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SingleDonald | Aug 21, 2011, 08:17 PM EDT

SLIGHTLY RELATED: I may have written of this before; I'm not sure. While fixing raffles is much more benign than pedophilia, or other child abuse, it is worth noting. From 2005-2008, I attended a Rewards Luncheon, for the Order of Nuns who taught me, in Catholic School. Here's a breakdown of the "winners" of the $50 Raffle. Mind you, the nuns are guaranteed half of the proceeds; that's why it is called a "50-50". 2005-"Winner": a sister who works out of the order's regional office, in Massachusettes. The sister who drew the "winning ticket" gave what seemed like a prepared speech, saying how "worthy" this sister was. 2006-"Winner" not present. 2007-"Winner" donates entire proceeds back to the order. 2008-"Winner" again not present, one "Margaret Wisdom". I checked MYLife, a social network site. I found 3 "Margaret Wisdoms", all of whom were past 75, and none of whom lived anywhere near Long Island. I also understand that there is an old sect of nuns, known as the "Daughters of Wisdom". Anyone who is experienced in gambling knows that these raffles are rigged! A "designated winner" is called (when the actual ticket drawn could belong to you or me). That "winner" then magnaminously says to "donate it". Or else, they call out the name of a fictitious person, and promise to pay him/her. Of course, the order keeps the entire proceeds! I reported this to the Lottery Commission, a few years ago. The agent never got back to me. When I called back, he informed me that he visited the Sisters' local office, and that they indeed had the proper permits, for running the 50-50's. Following my last Awards Luncheon, I E-Mailed him, with a description, of what took place. Suspicion didn't again set in, until somewhat later, when I checked MyLife. I contacted him again, but he failed to respond. My belief is that the Lottery Commission gives charities a "pass" on crooked raffles, so long as they have the proper permits.

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themurphia | Aug 21, 2011, 05:22 AM EDT

The wealth of the RCC is immeasurable..not just property but investments paintings every wealth accumulating enterprise imaginable...across the world...The congregation should as someone else suggests stop contributing to the collection plate immediately and instead lodge the money in an account to be distributed to the poor of the parish the elderly and infirm to make sure they do not go without food aaor heating this winter...Let the PP's bills be paid by his boss...!

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cuddlybuddly | Aug 21, 2011, 05:20 AM EDT

I wouldn't believe this, they are just going for the pity ploy...next they will be blaming something else...they are a shower of irresponsible men who put children last and themselves first, and anyone who bails them out is a fool, they need to hit a rock bottom in order to wake up

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Bernadett | Aug 21, 2011, 03:04 AM EDT

Who cares if they run out of money, let them sell off some of the property they own. They should have thought of all this before they did what they did ie.COVER UP THE ABUSE ,they make me sick. Old irish saying What goes round comes round. I feel sorry for the fools that will bail them out.They have ( in Ireland ) spent more money on legal fees, trying to get away with not paying victims than on any compensation paid to them.Let them give up there big cars, golf fees, days at the race track, the G.A.A. to name but a few, we all have to cut back to pay our way I dont see why they cant do the same.

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barneyjo | Aug 20, 2011, 08:32 PM EDT

@Trealach - you may have missed the debate about just how much of the State subvention for education paid to the Irish Church, was actually used for this purpose. Until relatively recently the condition of a good many school buildings, particularly in rural areas were in very poor condition and required further state funding even just to make them "habitable" as a place for learning. So if these monies were only spent in part on education provision, where did the rest of it go? New Church buildings maybe, or new parochial houses, or maybe a brand new BMW or Mercedes thrown in for good measure, along the way??

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AengusOg | Aug 20, 2011, 07:17 PM EDT

I have much greater sympathy for the pedophile priest than the bishop and church that protected him. The church ministered to neither soul. Where will the next truly spiritual meeting ground be for us? It will never be the State, Thank God.

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tombegs | Aug 20, 2011, 07:16 PM EDT

Hit them where they live. They loved their cash more than they ever loved any child. Didn't Christ say something about that kind of a person? I am certain that they have a lot of gold to sell to support themselves. It's going for a good price right now, and no one ever told me that Jesus insisted on using that stuff at the last supper.

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seanomelbourne | Aug 20, 2011, 07:03 PM EDT

I agree with trealach oust the clergy from all schools and allow the state to take over.The teachers will still be their but the clergy will be gone and good riddance.

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BishopSean | Aug 20, 2011, 05:59 PM EDT

I am not Roman Catholic and my small church has married clergy and has avoided the problem of child abuse. But think about this--as the Church in Ireland loses not only its position in schools and medical institutions, but also in local churches able to have some influence in society--with what will you replace it? Nothing but the State? What worldview would rise to the ascendency? Also, these huge financial settlements to the victims who of course deserve long-term help and healing, do your readers think only the (guilty) clergy are losing out? What about the general Catholic population who are the ones paying the bills? Shouldn't we even care about them?

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Collette2 | Aug 20, 2011, 05:47 PM EDT

Trealach, these negative comments are right up your ally. Whether you like Snap or other similiar support groups or not, they all have a place in exposing these heinous crimes and supporting those affected. Australia has one similiar, Brokenrites, look them up. With extended families worldwde, upates are constantly forwarded and online. Your misguided, and may earn yourself a few "indulgences" that are being metted out at the moment, for loyalty, but at what price.

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JudyJones | Aug 20, 2011, 05:23 PM EDT

Hi, I am Judy Jones, SNAP Midwest Associate Director, I am a SNAP volunteer, I spend around $6,000 of my own money every year to reach out to still suffering clergy abuse victims. I do not get paid a cent, and I am not a rich person. I happen to love children, I am the oldest of 11 kids, and I learned a few years ago that my brother and several of my relatives were sexually abused by our long time parish priest. My mother refused to believe it.. Most of those victims have come close to committing suicide, there are so many still suffering in silence. That is why I got involved with SNAP 9 years ago. I wanted to help.. Like I said, I love kids, and I believe that the truth should be fully exposed so that kids can be protected, they do not deserve to be treated so badly that their lives are ruined. Thank you, snapjudy@gmail.com 636-433-2511

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Trealach | Aug 20, 2011, 04:53 PM EDT

I agree with Angel Precious - SNAP is NOT about 'rights for the abused', they are exclusively interested in causing further abuse to the victims, by lining their own pocket with $$$ - May they rot in HELL!! This week would be a good time and opportunity for the Church to close ALL it's schools, before they re-open in September. Then let's see what mess the government will make in trying to deal with that situation. It will probably be the same mess as the economy. Thanks to the Church, Primary Education is FREE and Secondary Education is FREE especially for those parents who can't afford the fees. The Church receives a very modest 'capitation' grant for each student. The balance is split between the Church and the parents. However, it's time the Church got out of 'education' and 'medicine' and return to the original mission given by Christ. Let the State go to hell without them, and see how long they will last, since they have made a complete mess of everything that was once good.

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