Former Cloyne priest urges collection boycott to hit hierarchy ‘where it hurts’

MASS-GOERS should boycott church collections tomorrow, according to a priest who left the Diocese of Cloyne 12 years ago over his disgust at the covering-up of sex abuse.

Father Mathew Ring, who is still a priest and works in social services in Britain, said: “It is only by keeping their money in their pockets that the congregations can make their disgust felt. Ordinary Catholics should still go to Mass and still receive their sacraments but they must make their feelings known. The hierarchy will only really listen when they are hit where it hurts them most,” he said.

Fr Ring expressed his sympathy for the “ordinary priests” in the diocese who he said had been “gagged” by Archbishop Dermot Clifford and who feel “frustrated and agitated” at the latest revelations.