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Over €320k paid to abuse victims


More than  €320,000 was paid to victims of clerical sexual abuse in the diocese of Killaloe in 2008, bringing to €1.8 million the total paid out to victims over a six-year period.

Bishop Willie Walsh also acknowledged that the ongoing fallout from “the appalling tragedy of sexual abuse by a small number of clergy in the past” continues to demand time and resources for healing and reconciliation.
The payment of €323,507 was funded from part of the proceeds raised by the  €1.5million sale of six acres of land at his residence at Ashbourne in Ennis in 2001.
Dr Walsh revealed that the diocese spent €19,152 last year on child protection reflecting “the commitment of the diocese to ensure best practice by all people in our parish communities who work with children and young people.  Our specially trained child protection workers visit every parish to assist with the continued implementation of the child protection guidelines of both Church and State”.
In the 2008 diocesan accounts just released, Bishop Walsh revealed that while a surplus of €165,517 was recorded in 2007, the diocese sustained a loss of €22,403 last year. This was mainly due to costs incurred in financing a bridging loan of €3.6 million.
Bishop Walsh explained, “In April 2008 a bridging loan was arranged with a bank pending the maturity of an investment product in September 2008. The collapse in the financial markets before the maturity date left us unable to repay the bank loan. The interest charge on this loan in 2008 was €102,450.”
Bishop Walsh added that many parishes were responding generously to assist the diocese to repay the bank loan and “to attempt to mitigate this interest burden for the coming years”.
The accounts show that income last year was €1,116,923 but expenditure had risen in the order of 30%, from €878,227 in 2007 to €1,139,326 last year.
Referring to the present economic climate and the impact of the downturn in investment income for the foreseeable future, Bishop Walsh indicated the operation of the diocese in coming years will have to depend more heavily on contributions from local parishioners to meet its obligations.
“Exactly half of income in 2008 came directly from the parishes of the diocese in the form of a contribution in the region of 12.5% from their normal yearly income. In addition to these figures, parishioners continue to contribute very generously to the needs of the developing world through our Lenten Trócaire campaign (€317,218) and the Mission collection (€93,281),” he explained.
Bishop Walsh said that almost 42% of income last year was derived from investment income which, in the main, represented dividends from shares in which the diocese had invested over the years.
“The turmoil in financial markets since late 2008 will significantly reduce this source of income this year and for the foreseeable future. The diocese has therefore had to depend more heavily on the income from parishes to meet its commitments in 2009, while also achieving some reductions in expenditure,” he added.
Bishop Walsh outlined that the Diocesan Finance Committee engaged with the parishes to ensure that the needs of the diocese in its mission would be met this year. In addition, the priests of the diocese, he said, had responded generously from their personal resources to assist with this work.
The accounts also revealed that the basic salary for a priest in the diocese was €22,000, rising with increments for years of service and responsibility to a level of €27,240.

 

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