The Irish Survivors of Child Abuse (SOCA) group will today launch a campaign to persuade the Catholic laity not to give money at church collections until all matters relevant to clerical child sex abuse are resolved.
They suggest that people give their money to charities such as GOAL instead.
The group is also exploring legal action to freeze the assets of the Dublin archdiocese and of all religious orders pending settlement of compensation claims with victims.
Tomorrow, group co-ordinator Mr John Kelly and its UK spokesman, Mr Patrick Walsh, will meet the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, at his offices.
Mr Kelly said SOCA planned gatherings outside cathedrals in Dublin, Cork, and Limerick over coming weeks where people would be advised to donate their money elsewhere.
Cork businessman Mr Eoin Little, recently appointed SOCA's planning and strategy officer, requested last night that people no longer contribute to the church, either through collections, wills or fund-raising.
Mr Little, who is involved with software development, said he was a victim of child sexual abuse by a Christian Brother in Crumlin, Dublin.
He accused the church of wasting money fighting legal actions in abuse cases, which is why he proposed SOCA take a moreva injunction freezing church assets, a legal action which he is prepared to help fund.
He said recent Prime Time figures disclosed there were approximately 450 claims against the church in the Dublin archdiocese alone, 300 of those arising from industrial schools. "Redress figures indicate the average settlement will be around €100,000," he said. "That means approximately €40 million in Dublin."
He believed a further €80 million must be added to cover legal costs. Such a huge figure for legal fees was a waste.
He described this as an example of "financial mismanagement" by the church, which should not be supported by the laity. Nor should the laity pay for their support by the church of convicted child sex abusers on their release from prison. Such people should be on social welfare.
He also said SOCA would be asking Mr McDowell tomorrow to look at the charitable status allowed the church, including religious orders, as "the operation of the trusts being set up [by them\] are so far away from the origins and aims of what trusts were set up for and what donors intended".
He said in the longer term SOCA would like to see lay committees running the finances of all parishes on the island.
In own case, Mr Little claimed that despite repeated assurances from the Christian Brothers he remained unable to gain access to relevant documents where his abuse was concerned. He said he had established that of the 43/4 in his class in Crumlin, 25 had been abused by the same man.
