A section of the Charities Bill may be unconstitutional because it makes it a criminal offence to sell a Mass card not authorised by a Catholic bishop, according to a former attorney general. The Bill went to President Mary McAleese for signing earlier this week.
The section in question was inserted into the Bill by the Seanad on February 11th last to deal with a problem of the sale of bogus Mass cards, which purport to be signed by a priest, but where the signature is not genuine and no Mass is actually said.
The Government amendment was put forward following the earlier proposal of a similar amendment by Senator Rónan Mullen.
Former attorney general John Rogers SC has provided an opinion on it to the solicitor for a man who sells genuine Mass cards, signed by a priest in the Philippines by arrangement with a bishop there.
The money raised goes to build churches there.
He fears shops may feel pressure on them not to sell if the Bill becomes law.
During the Seanad debate, Senator David Norris read from Mr Rogers’s opinion, which stated that section 96 was “an unjustified restriction on the Article 44 guarantee of the free profession and practise of religion.”
The section provides that a person who sells a Mass card “other than pursuant to arrangement with a recognised person” is guilty of an offence.
A “recognised person” who can authorise the sale of such Mass cards is defined as a bishop of the church, or the head of an order recognised by it.
The section defines a Mass card as a card that indicates that “the holy sacrifice of the Mass” will be offered for a person’s intentions. In any proceedings it will be presumed, unless proved to the contrary, that an offence has been committed.
In his opinion Mr Rogers says this goes further than is reasonably required to deal with the problem of the sale of a Mass card not properly signed by a priest, where no Mass is said, or where the purchaser thinks it is for a charitable purpose and it is not.
“The narrow categories of persons is arbitrary and unfair and represents a serious interference with the religious practice of some priests and others who are members of non-Catholic churches and religious communities in this State,” he states.
He also points out that it presumes an offence has been committed until the contrary is proven.
“The criminalisation of the sale of Mass cards is another aspect of the disproportionate nature of this piece of legislation,” he says.
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(Source: CIN)