Don't give to church beggars, says priest
A CATHOLIC priest has urged his parishioners not to give money to foreign immigrants holding unauthorised collections outside his church.
Father Aidan Troy told the congregation at Holy Cross Church in Ardoyne, north Belfast, in his weekly parish bulletin to be wary of the beggars, as they are not affiliated to any church organisation.
He said they have not contacted him about collecting outside the church and said he wanted to assure parishioners they did not have to feel guilty about not giving them money.
He said: "I have nothing against it (asking for money] because I have to ask for money too, but people going in and out of mass were under an awful lot of pressure over whether to give money, and if this is genuine.
"The trouble is the people who come don't approach me and ask if we can take a collection. We never see these people between weekends, so we don't know where they are coming from."
It is thought the collectors hold holy pictures up while pleading for money.
Fr Troy said he was concerned the beggars were being used "unscrupulously" as many of them are women.
"I hope they are not being used by somebody else," he said.
"If I could find out if these people needed food or clothes or help with their children, I would be the first to say we need to do something about this."
The priest said the collectors have been appearing at every Saturday night mass and all Sunday services for about three months, and he believes it is something which is becoming more common.
He said he had read about a priest in Portlaoise who told parishioners not to give any money to similar beggars and moved them out of church grounds.
While he said he wouldn't go that far, he said his decision was for the benefit of his parishioners.
"They come and can be quite persistent with some of the people, and I felt I should say something and give a little guidance."
He said the move was not racially motivated.
"There's always a danger that it looks like a racist thing, and it's not.
"More fundamentally, you just don't want to see anybody from a different nationality being used."
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Monday 28 May 2012
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