Irish diocese withdraws from family-life center to preserve public funding
March 17, 2016
An Irish diocese has ended its ties with a local family-life center, in order to ensure that the institution will continue to receive government funding.
The Elphin diocese reacted to political pressure from Tusal-- the Irish goverment's family-welfare agency-- by ending its formal affiliation with the Boyle Family Life Centre. The diocese explained that Tusal was only willing to continue funding for the agency "if we were willing to operate without reference to our ethos."
Bishop Kevin Doran said that the diocese had "reluctantly accepted that the services funded by Tusla are unlikely to receive funding unless they are gathered together under the management of a new limited company, which will not have any formal connection to the Diocese of Elphin."
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Posted by: Randal Mandock -
Mar. 20, 2016 11:33 PM ET USA
We can see that Catholicism is in full retreat across the entire Western world, not only here in the U.S. Will the Diocese of Elphin now open its own family life center, or would such a center under the auspices of the Church be illegal?
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Posted by: mhains8491 -
Mar. 17, 2016 6:58 PM ET USA
Why is the Catholic Church offering services that are not Catholic? The Church's job is to save souls, not offer secular government services cheap.
