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  Rift Opens As Greens Demand Church Pay "Moral Debt"

By Senan Molony and Shane Phelan
Irish Independent
May 23, 2009

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/rift-opens-as-greens-demand-church-pay-moral-debt-1748933.html

THE Catholic Church has a moral obligation to find more money to help pay compensation to abuse survivors, Green party leader John Gormley warned yesterday.

"The Church authorities, if they are to regain their Christian credibility, ought to now live up to that responsibility," Mr Gormley said.

The church should lead by example, he insisted.

However, the comments made little impact on the leaders of the religious orders.

Sources close to the Conference of Religious in Ireland (CORI) said it appeared there was no sign of the orders wavering in their refusal to stump up more funds.

"There is no appetite among the orders to stray from the deal already done with the State," a source said.

Meanwhile, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said it was his view that the contribution from the religious institutions "should be of a far greater extent than it has been".

The pursuit of further cash from Church authorities now threatens to cause a rift in Government. Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin said yesterday he was "sickened" at how the issue was being exploited for party political gain.

He said the Opposition focus should be "like the Government parties".

The coalition was concentrating on supporting the survivors, "rather than playing the blame game", he said.

But Mr Gormley insisted: "On the 2002 indemnity deal with the religious orders, we need to get around legal niceties. There is a moral responsibility."

Mr Gormley said he didn't have the legal expertise to assess whether an indemnity pact -- whereby the Church paid a flat ˆ128m towards a compensation bill that will run to at least 10 times that amount -- could be reopened.

Moral

"What I am saying is that there is, I believe, a moral responsibility on the Church authorities to live up to their Christian values now, and to actually look again at what has been done.

"I really can't put a (cash) figure on it. You can't put a figure on the sort of suffering that these people had to endure."

He had great respect for the CORI, Mr Gormley said, but he did not believe they should now "shirk their responsibilities", because it was truly shocking what the Irish people had to read in the Ryan report.

Asked about Mr Gormley's call, the Taoiseach said yesterday: "The State had a liability here. This was all done under state supervision. Discussions took place with (church) authorities, with those orders, and an offer was made.

"The role of Government now is to ensure that the survivors are assisted and helped in every way possible."

Mr Martin echoed: "That is number one -- I am a bit sickened at the degree to which people have moved very quickly to position this in terms of the current politics and in an election context." They were seeking advantage, he suggested.

"That seems to me to be the prime motivation behind much of the Opposition commentary on this. But this issue will be debated long beyond the local elections."

The Government will outline a detailed response to the Ryan Commission findings after a special Cabinet meeting next week.

 
 

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