‘Hypocrisy’ of Church gate collections ‘sickening’ – TD

An independent TD has called on political parties to put an end to the “hypocrisy” of church gate collections.

Mattie McGrath, a TD for the Tipperary South constituency, said politicians who advocate policies that are “diametrically opposed” to Church teaching should not pressurise Mass goers for donations.

“The double standards are disgusting. The hypocrisy is sickening,” Mr McGrath told The Irish Catholic.

“I am not blaming the local activists. I’m blaming the parties at national level who would instruct and expect their membership to collect outside churches when they are fundamentally and diametrically opposed to the views and faith values of the Church. They have brass necks,” he said.

Fianna Fail’s Éamon Ó Cuív, however, defended political parties who partake in such fundraising initiatives.

“The idea that in some way that a politician doesn’t feel Mass goers are part of their electorate would not be the way I see it. They are not exclusively my electorate but I would like to think that as a group they would not be alienated,” he told The Irish Catholic.

Conceding that there may be “more effective means of collecting fund nowadays”, Mr Ó Cuív said it was “only a matter of how you do it”.

“You have to get money off the public someway or other. The little from the many would be my approach to politics and always has been. How you collect it is only a matter of mechanics,” he said.

Labour TD Willie Penrose said he was “broadly in agreement that people should attend church and not have political collections annoying them on the way in”.

Mr Penrose said the Labour party had not held collections outside churches in his Longford-Westmeath constituency for several years and that the decision was taken “well in advance” of Bishop Kevin Doran’s comments.

The Bishop of Elphin suggested last week that those political parties which have “consistently advocated policies and introduced legislation which undermine marriage and the right to life of the unborn” should think again before holding church gate collections.