Why the faithful should not pay

NOT a single cent should be provided by parishioners to compensate for the criminality of clerical sex abusers.

Responding to the clerical sex abuse issue is fundamentally a matter of accountability by abusers and those with oversight of them and the collective vicarious responsibility of the Pope and the bishops of a country.

If the necessary resources to compensate are not available in one diocese, then they need to be found by those responsible in some other part of the church, either in Ireland or elsewhere. The idea of burdening lay people who have no influence whatsoever on church governance with such obligations is treacherous in its implications.