IRELAND
Irish Examiner
Friday, July 19, 2013
The Catholic Church is as imaginative and determined as any fallen Celtic Tiger high roller when it comes to trying to protect assets.
It has shown it is prepared to put resources beyond the reach of those entitled, morally and legally, to compensation from the Church.
Earlier this month the New York Times reported how Cardinal Timothy F Dolan, then based in Milwaukee, requested and got Vatican permission in 2007 to move nearly $57m (€43.5m) into a cemetery trust fund to protect the cash from victims of clerical sexual abuse.
Cardinal Dolan, now archbishop of New York, denies trying to ring-fence funds. However, in a 2007 letter to the Vatican he argued that by transferring the assets, “I foresee an improved protection of these funds from any legal claim and liability”.
Irish orders, particularly the Christian Brothers and the Sisters of Charity, have taken considerable assets off the table by transferring them to various trusts. Echoing that philosophy in recent days the four congregations who ran Magdalene laundries announced that they will not make a financial contribution to the taxpayer fund set up for former residents. The Mercy Sisters, the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity, the Sisters of Charity and the Good Shepherd Sisters had been expected to make a contribution to a €58m scheme.
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