By Donal Thornton
IrishCentral.com
March 4, 2010
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Uproar-as-Catholic-Church-asks-parishioners-to-burden-the-expense-of-sex-abuse-claims-86177912.html
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| Bishop Denis Brennan |
The Bishop of Ferns, Denis Brennan, has asked the parishioners of County Wexford to help pay the costs of compensating victims of clerical sex abuse.
The general public firmly believes that the Catholic Church should sell their assets to help pay the compensation and legal costs.
“It is absolutely disgusting, an insult to the people and an insult to the Catholic Church. All the money they have and the buildings they own, Rome is the place that should pay or it," said parishioner Peggy Kenny.
One unnamed parishioner said that she may give "a few extra bob" in the collections, but said the Vatican should pay the shortfall and should stop "rubbing people's noses in it."
In the church’s defense, a Eucharistic minister at St Aidan's Cathedral said, "I would give as there is no point looking back, we need to look forward.”
Eilish Dempsey said that she has become disillusioned with the Catholic Church since the revelations of clerical abuse in the Ferns diocese.
"The cheek of them. I am very surprised as the bishop is very well thought of. Rome and the bishops should sell off their assets to pay for it," said Dempsey.
Another unnamed member of the congregation said: " I'm a Mass-goer and I won't give money to this. This is the biggest disaster that has ever happened. It's absolutely crazy to ask people given the property they have and the state the town's economy is in."
Parishioner Paula Davis said: "It's disgraceful to expect the parish to pay for pedophile priests. They should sell off their assets to do this," she added, "It's like getting into debt and asking the priest to pay for something you'd done wrong."
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