A PRIEST who made a settlement with the Revenue Commissioners for more than €400,000 has been ordered by Archbishop Dermot Clifford to cease all commercial activity. He has also agreed to step down temporarily from his parish ministry.
Fr Tadhg O’Donovan (48) met Dr Clifford, the apostolic administrator of the diocese of Cloyne, on Friday. He agreed to step down from his ministry in the parish of Blarney, where he is a curate attached to Whitechurch.
On Saturday night, fellow Blarney curate Fr Tim Hazelwood read a message from Dr Clifford at Mass in Whitechurch and yesterday Blarney parish priest Fr Bill Bermingham read the message at both Masses in Whitechurch.
“Archbishop Dermot Clifford met Fr Tadhg O’Donovan on Friday afternoon. At that meeting it was agreed that Fr O’Donovan will take some time away from his parish ministry for a period of prayer and personal reflection,” said the statement, which was later issued to the media.
“Archbishop Clifford also instructed Fr O’Donovan to cease any involvement with commercial activity of any kind.”
Diocesan spokesman Fr Jim Killeen said the question of how long Fr O’Donovan would remain on leave was a matter between himself and Dr Clifford and would be reviewed periodically.
Fr O’Donovan was prosecuted by the Revenue Commissioners in March 2008 for 10 tax offences. During the case, it emerged that he had an interest in 13 properties since 1989 and had derived rental income from at least 11 of these.
Asked by The Irish Timesif Dr Clifford's order would require Fr O'Donovan to divest himself of his properties, Fr Killeen said it was unclear. However, he pointed out that while diocesan priests, unlike priests in religious orders, do not take a vow of poverty and are allowed to have personal property, canon law states that they should not engage in commercial activity and should not live an ostentatious lifestyle.
Fr O'Donovan, who made a settlement of €433,475 with Revenue earlier this year, apologised last week after he lashed out at the Revenue Commissioners when contacted by the Irish Daily Starfor comment after his name appeared in a list of 76 tax defaulters.