THE CATHOLIC CHURCH in Dublin is on the brink of ‘financial collapse’ – and may be forced to place a parish-based levy on Catholic families in order to stay alive, according to leaked internal documents published today.
A consultation document from the Archdiocese of Dublin’s Council of Priests, given to the Irish Catholic newspaper and published today, says that many of the Archdiocese’s parishes are close to collapse.
The substantial cash reserves built up by the parishes over the last number of decades have all been diminished by declining Massgoing attendances, and other factors relating to the economic downturn.
RTÉ News, reporting the Irish Catholic’s story, said that compensation settlements reached by by the church had also caused a significant worsening in its financial standing.
Priests have been asked to consider the document and to respond to it at a meeting next month.
The Irish Catholic’s website was offline at the time of publication.
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