Reparations for child abuse victims and the recession have brought Ireland's largest Catholic diocese to the brink of bankruptcy, according to a leaked document from a group of priests.
The paper from the Council of Priests concludes that many parishes in Dublin are close to a state of financial collapse.
It
cites the ongoing cost of compensation payments made to victims of
clerical abuse, the death of the Celtic Tiger economic boom and falling
numbers going to mass in the Irish capital.
The document, which
was leaked to this week's edition of the Irish Catholic newspaper,
proposes imposing a parish-based levy on Catholic families living in
Dublin that would raise up to €3m (£2.6m) a year.
The priests also
recommend cuts in the wages of religious orders and lay people working
for the church in line with public pay cuts imposed to trim back
Ireland's massive national debt.
A spokeswoman for the Dublin
archdiocese has confirmed the existence of the document, saying it was
aimed at addressing the economic realities facing the archdiocese. She
said making no changes would have serious financial consequences.
Two
years ago a damning report into clerical sex abuse found that the
diocese had covered up the activities of 46 priests accused of abusing
children.
It found the church placed its own reputation above the protection of children in its care.
It
also said state authorities including the Garda Síochána facilitated
the cover-up by allowing the Catholic church to operate outside the law.