Irish church fears euro short change

The church does not want to lose out in the euro switch

The Roman Catholic Church in Ireland has expressed concern that its income from church collections could decline by up to a fifth with the switch to the single European currency in January.

Maybe it's a time for people to look as well at how much they actually contribute to the church and to maybe even areas of charity

Father Rory O'Sullivan

The fear is that parishioners who at present put a £1 coin in the collection plate will simply reach for a one-euro coin instead - worth 20% less than the currency it is replacing.

The fear that parish finances may be hit by the change-over to the euro is one shared by clergymen throughout the country's 26 Catholic dioceses.

Ireland is the only country in the euro zone whose currency, the punt, has a base unit greater in value than the euro, with one punt, or pound, worth 1.27 euros at current exchange rates.

Weekly collection

The weekly collection is still very important for the livelihood of the church in Ireland and goes towards the maintenance and upkeep of property and buildings.

Church leaders fear that parishioners who substitute the euro for the pound may not be aware that it is worth only 80 pence.

Father Rory O'Sullivan, a spokesman for the Diocese of Kerry in the south of the country, says the time might be ripe for people to think in terms of contributing a two-euro coin instead.

"The idea of contributing a pound in the Catholic Church has been there for quite a long time; it has been there probably even back as far as when we had the £1 note," he says.

"Then maybe it's a time for people to look as well at how much they actually contribute to the church and to maybe even areas of charity."

If Father O'Sullivan's idea of a two-euro coin gains general acceptance, it will swell the income in the collection plate by 40% instead of the feared decrease of 20%.

Worth less

Church publications have been stressing the need for priests to get across the message that the euro will be worth significantly less than the coin it replaces.

The finance committee of the Dublin archdiocese has sent a letter to all parishes on the introduction of the new currency.

In it, it says it is "considering the possibility of devising handouts to help congregations convert their weekly contributions into an appropriate amount in euros".

"They [the committee] are confident that if the people fully understand the relative euro value of their normal Irish pound contributions they will continue to give to collections with generosity," the newsletter said.