New Irish law protects sale of mass cards

From today, the Charities Act 2009 offers State protection to the Roman Catholic Church, and only this one Church, to sell Mass cards in Ireland. The legality of this Act is being challenged in the High Court, but for a reason that turns ethics upside down.

It is not being challenged to prevent people from selling offers of intercession with the creator of the universe to bereaved and vulnerable people. Instead, it is being challenged to allow a wider number of people to sell such unverifiable claims.

Church Monopoly

The new law defines a mass card as a card that indicates “that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass (howsoever described) will be offered for the intentions specified therein”. It is now a crime to sell such a card in Ireland other than by agreement with a Bishop or Provincial of the Church, and “the Church” is defined as “the Holy Catholic Apostolic and Roman Church.” Furthermore, it is presumed that a seller does not have such an arrangement unless they prove otherwise. Anyone convicted of breaking this law can be jailed for up to ten years or fined up to €300,000.

Thomas McNally, who sells Mass cards in Longford, Ireland, is challenging the legality of the Act as he says it confers a Church monopoly on Mass card sales. He claims to have an arrangement with the Most Rev William Pascal Kikoti, Bishop of Mpanda, Tanzania, for signing Mass cards. The State has agreed not to take any prosecutions under the new Act until the case is heard, probably in October. Here is the Irish Times report on the legal challenge.

Magic and Superstition

Such thinking exists in the realm of magic and superstition. It is like last year’s special offer by the Pope that, if you visited Lourdes during 2008, you would get a free ‘plenary indulgence’ which would get you early release from a place called Purgatory after you die, and get you sooner to another place called Heaven.

In any other field of civic regulation, it would be seen as fraudulent to persuade sick or bereaved people to part with money in return for masses or plenary indulgences. And the underlying purpose of a Charities Act is surely to protect vulnerable people, not to exploit them.

As an aside, many religious people consider the selling of sacraments to be grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters they hold sacred. They may be tempted to complain under the new blasphemy law that Justice Minister Dermot Ahern plans to make operational in mid-October, around the same time as the Mass Card High Court case.

So, all in all, October should be a great month for legalising nonsense in Ireland!

Join Atheist Ireland

Atheist Ireland is an advocacy group for an ethical and secular Ireland, free from superstition and supernaturalism, where the State does not support or give special treatment to any religion. We welcome new members to help make this happen. You can join us at http://atheist.ie

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