Struggling Dublin archdiocese considers tax on ebbing faithful

Washington Times:  DUBLIN — Ireland’s deep recession came at the worst possible time for the country’s largest Catholic Church district.

The Archdiocese of Dublin lost millions of dollars of investments in Ireland’s failed banks. Wages are soaring, and attendance is declining. The church also is paying millions of dollars in legal settlements in a widening sex scandal.

One proposed solution: Tax the remaining parishioners.

But many churchgoers in this overwhelmingly Catholic nation are grumbling over any attempt to force them to pay for what traditionally has been a voluntary donation to fund the church.

“It’s contrary to Irish culture,” said David Quinn, a religious-affairs commentator from the Iona Institute Christian think tank in Dublin.

He added that even tithing, pledging one-tenth of one’s annual income to the church, is anathema to Irish Catholics.

An internal report by the Council of Priests, the executive committee of the Dublin Archiocese, suggested that a “parish levy” could help reverse the financial crisis.

“Collections in the diocese have been decreasing in recent years,” the report said, referring to the 199 parishes under the authority of Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin.

“In a time of economic downturn, as well as declining participation at Sunday Mass, this is not surprising.”

The Dublin Archdiocese, the largest of 26 church districts in Ireland, invested about $14.5 million in bank shares that are now estimated at only about $43,500.

Because of a shortage of priests, the archdiocese has had to hire more costly lay members of the congregation for some nonreligious jobs once performed by the clergy, and wage costs are up 500 percent over the past decade.

Voluntary donations to the church have fallen with a decreasing attendance at Sunday Mass, and the church administration’s cash reserves have been wiped out by child-abuse settlements.

The church has paid nearly $20 million in settlements and legal fees in 172 cases against 44 priests. Fifty-five more lawsuits are pending.

“The archdiocese has to face the current serious economic reality and review what it can and cannot support financially in the coming years,” the Dublin Archdiocese said in a statement.

“It is complex situation which will require a multifaceted, considered response.”