The Bishop of Derry, Dr Séamus Hegarty, yesterday withdrew his controversial decision to donate £1 million (€1.4 million), raised by a levy on collections, to a church trust set up to pay compensation to people sexually abused by priests.
The about-turn followed an unprecedented meeting of 80 priests in Derry yesterday, called as a result of public outcry.
It followed Bishop Hegarty's disclosure on the BBC Spotlight programme last Tuesday that he had imposed a 3 per cent levy on parish collections to raise £200,000 (€289,556) a year over the next five years for the church's Stewardship Trust.
It was set up by the Catholic bishops in 1996 to pay compensation claims arising from clerical child sexual abuse and for the pastoral care of victims.
Following a two-hour meeting at the Iona Retreat Centre in Termonbacca on the outskirts of Derry yesterday, the priests telephoned Bishop Hegarty with their unanimous recommendation that he should abolish the levy.
Bishop Hegarty, who was not at the meeting, also agreed to the priests' recommendation that any diocesan money already paid into the trust should be withdrawn and returned to the contributing parishes.
It is expected that a letter from Bishop Hegarty will be read at weekend Masses in Derry explaining his original decision and why he has changed his mind.
Yesterday's meeting was chaired by Mgr Joseph Donnelly, parish priest at Omagh. He told reporters afterwards that Bishop Hegarty had accepted their recommendation calmly and had "acquiesced with the decision". He also confirmed that late last year the priests had agreed with the bishop's recommendation that the levy should be imposed.
The Bishop of Dromore, Dr John McAreavey, disclosed yesterday that the £56,000 (€81,000) his diocese had contributed to the Stewardship Trust came from a diocesan levy of 12 per cent.
The levy provided funding "for a wide range of diocesan and national expenses. It is the only source used for our contribution to the Stewardship Trust," he said.
The Bishop of Clogher, Dr Joseph Duffy, said €105,600 had been paid from the diocese to the Stewardship Trust. "No money collected from parishes for parochial, diocesan or specific purposes has been used for the Stewardship Trust," he said.
The diocese of Down and Connor has disclosed that none of its annual contribution of £266,999 (€386,556) to the Church Stewardship Trust was raised from parish collections. The Bishop, Dr Patrick Walsh, said money for the trust there was "realised from the sale of diocesan land and property."
Cork and Ross diocese has disclosed it contributed €265,000 to the fund, while Limerick diocese has contributed €200,000. Both insist the monies raised have not come from parishes.
A spokeswoman for the Dublin archdiocese said consultation had begun with its priests on how, in conjunction with its parishes and people, it could best meet commitments to the trust.
Last June the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, disclosed the archdiocese had paid €2.5 million in settlements to 38 victims of abuse, with an additional €1 million in legal costs.