Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Priests donate almost €1m to Trocaire

Donations to Trócaire from individual members of the clergy and religious orders amounted to almost €1m in 2012, new figures reveal.

Members of the clergy donated €765,866 of their own personal income to the overseas development agency last year, while the religious orders made donations amounting to €150,977.

Trócaire is the official overseas development agency of the Catholic Church in Ireland and this year the charity marks 40 years since its foundation.

Trócaire’s executive director, Justin Kilcullen paid tribute to the personal commitment of the clergy to overseas development and their promotion of the agency’s work throughout parishes in Ireland.

“What these figures show is that members of the clergy lead by example when it comes to supporting vital work overseas,” Mr Kilcullen said. 

“As well as facilitating collections at churches all over Ireland, priests also donate a significant proportion of their own money to help support communities across Africa, Asia and Latin America. This support is absolutely vital in our quest for a just world. This year Trócaire marks its 40th anniversary. The organisation was established as a way for people in Ireland to express their solidarity with communities in the developing world. As we enter our 40th year, I would like to thank parishes across the country for their ongoing support, which is changing the lives of the people we work with,” he said.
 
Total public donations to Trócaire for the year 2012 amounted to €25,771,596.