THE cash-strapped Diocese of Cloyne will be forced into a fire-sale
of church assets to fund compensation settlements from its failures on
child protection.
The Irish Independent
has learned that a number of old church properties in the diocese are
being considered for disposal to help pay for civil claims arising from
incidents of clerical abuse.
The new Bishop of Cloyne faces a
poisoned chalice of a diocese with a demoralised clergy and years of
having to fund abuse compensation claims.
Cloyne's current
administrator, Archbishop Dr Dermot Clifford, said the new bishop -- who
is expected to be confirmed next autumn -- faced a very tough task.
"A new bishop will be appointed, hopefully -- from my point of view, the sooner the better," he said.
"But
it will probably take a little bit of time longer before a new bishop
arrives in the diocese. He will have a hard job to do, I can tell you.
"Priests will obviously be very demoralised and very disappointed. They will need very strong leadership."
Dr Clifford said the primary challenge facing the new appointee would be financial.
"There
will be a lot of compensation to be paid. Some has already been paid.
The resources of the diocese financially will be very low -- and it will
be a big job to do to rebuild the Diocese of Cloyne. It will take some
time. It is a bit like our own (Irish) economy at the moment," he said.
The Vatican is expected to fill the Cloyne vacancy next autumn.
Five compensation claims have been settled to date by Cloyne. In each case, the diocese did not admit legal liability.
But it is estimated that it faces more than a dozen more claims, with the bill potentially running to millions of euro.
Cloyne, once one of the wealthiest Catholic dioceses in Ireland, must now make drastic financial decisions.
Burden
Former
Cork East TD and Cobh-based councillor John Mulvihill (Labour) said the
disposal of the Bishop's Palace in the Cork harbour town and splitting
its proceeds between the community and a victims' compensation fund
would represent a genuine gesture of contrition.
He said: "There are plenty of fine church-owned buildings in Cobh that would be perfectly adequate for a bishop."
"I
think selling off the Bishop's Palace for the benefit of both the Cobh
community and victims would be a step in the right direction."
The
church has refused to say how much has been paid in compensation so far
or how much will have to be set aside to settle future claims.
"We don't know yet (the final amount). Giving figures now would not be fair to the (abuse) survivors," the archbishop said.
"We couldn't give a figure now. We have sold some houses already. We have four or five settlements to date. That's it."
The diocese also faces increased training and support costs in relation to child-protection issues.
Dr Clifford hit out at suggestions that the diocese boasted a vast property portfolio that was readily available for disposal.
"We don't have an awful lot else to sell, to be honest with you. We had a few houses (sold)," he said.
"In
the diocese, every parish owns its own property. We had a few houses
actually belonged to the diocese and that's how we were able to sell
them.
"But we couldn't go down to a parish and say, 'You have a
particular house there that you are no longer using, we will sell that
and use it for the compensation.' They would not have it."
However,
one diocesan source has hinted that parishes with unused and unwanted
properties could voluntarily assign them to the diocese, potentially
helping to ease the financial burden that is now facing Cloyne.