By Ann Marie Foley - 20 July, 2013
Some of the former residents of Magdalene laundries have called on Catholics to boycott Mass this weekend as a gesture of solidarity which would show displeasure with the four congregations who ran the laundries over their refusal to contribute to a compensation fund.
According to the former residents, it would also send a strong message to the religious orders to “do the right thing”.
Earlier this week, calls were made by the Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter, for the four religious orders to contribute towards the fund which may end up paying out up tens of millions to up to 600 women.
The Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy, Religious Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of Refuge, the Sisters of Charity and Sisters of the Good Shepherd ran the laundries.
The congregations have said they are willing to work with the Government in other areas such as providing records and offering care for woman who stayed with them. They have ruled out contributing financially to the fund.
One estimate suggests that some of the religious orders are currently providing residential care for about 100 women who have chosen to continue living with the nuns.
While the full cost of the compensation scheme is difficult to calculate, it is estimated that the final cost will be between €34.5 million and €58 million.
Minister Alan Shatter said he believed that the four orders have a moral and ethical obligation to contribute.
However, Magdalene Survivors Together said the women want the public to help them get the Orders to take responsibility for compensating the elderly former residents.
Spokesmn, Steven O’ Riordan, also called on the Government to lift the Statute of Limitations ban on women taking future legal action if they sign up to the scheme.
“After the shocking and pathetic response from the Government, the women are now seeking the assistance of all decent citizens of this country to stand behind them,” he said urging people to boycott Mass this weekend.
“We want people to make it clear to the Church that people are not happy with how the women are being treated by the four religious orders who ran Magdalene laundries,” he said.
This is not the first call for a Mass boycott. Three years ago, in September 2010, an 80 year old Cork woman, Jennifer Sleeman, called on Irish women to boycott Sunday Mass in protest at the fact that many women were tired of being treated as second-class citizens within the Church and were horrified by the sexual abuse scandals.
On the day of the boycott in 2010 the Catholic Communications Office issued a statement on the Sacrifice of the Mass.
While it did not use the word boycott, the written statement said: “Mass is a community sacramental celebration of the life, death and resurrection of Our Lord Jesus. We would encourage people not to absent themselves from the Eucharist where we re-enact the Last Supper and the Paschal mystery, following the command of Jesus ‘Do this is memory of me’.
It continued, “The celebration of the Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation is essential to the practice of the Catholic faith as the Sunday Eucharist is a pivotal aspect of the spiritual lives of Catholics.”
By Ann Marie Foley
