Falling Mass attendance and abuse pay-outs hit parishes

DUBLIN parishes and the archdiocese are close to financial collapse mainly due to falling collections as Mass attendance declines.

Financial commitments to settle abuse cases have also impacted on Church coffers and reserves built up have been spent on seeking to compensate victims of child sexual abuse by priests.

In the Dublin archdiocese alone, 172 civil actions from people alleging abuse have been taken against 44 priests. Of those, 117 have been concluded and 55 are ongoing. The costs to the archdiocese for settlement of claims stands at €13.5 million — €9.3m in settlements and €4.2m in legal costs for both sides.