Wednesday 2 November 2016

UBER PRIESTS

UBER PRIESTS




UBER TAXIS lost a recent high court case in London for treating their taxi drivers as SELF EMPLOYED SUBCONTRACTORS rather than as employees.

The court ordered UBER to treat their drivers as employees in future as employees and give them full employee rights - minimum wage, holidays etc.

Did all of you out there know that Catholic priests are treated as SELF EMPLOYED SUB CONTRACTORS by the law of the land?

DALY


I discovered this in 1985 / 1986 when Bishop Cahal Daly sacked me as the curate of Larne. He refused me a proper independent hearing WITHIN the Church so I was left with no other option but to take him to the civil courts.

My first port of call was the Belfast INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNAL for wrongful dismissal. The case was heard by the chairman of the tribunal judge - who announced that they could not hear my case as I, as a priest, was a SUBCONTRACTOR and not an employee !

That was a strange situation consideration considering the amount of control the bishop has over the priest. The bishop tells the priest:

1. Where he must live and for how long.

2. How much his salary and benefits will be.

3. Who his line manager is.

4. What specific duties he must do.

5. How he must dress.

6. How he must never have sex of any kind.

7. Who his car insurance company should be.

8. At what age he must retire etc.

The only other description of a priest - apart from employee - would be slave or servant.

What subcontractor has his home life, his sex life etc decided for him by a MAIN CONTRACTOR?




Having failed to have my case heard at the Industrial Tribunal I was told that the proper place to have my case heard was the Belfast High Court.


BELFAST HIGH COURT


So I took a case there that was heard by the High Court judge Mr Justice Anthony Campbell.

Judge Campbell informed us, that in law, the Catholic Church has the same status as a golf club and is governed by its own rule book.

The civil courts will only interfere in the Catholic Church IF you can prove that in a particular instance the Church broke its own internal rules!

That means Canon Law.

So in order to make Cahal Daly responsible in court I had to prove that Daly broke Canon Law in his dealings with me!

That was like asking a Russian peasant to prove that PUTIN broke Kremlin law in his dealings with him!




That was a nearly impossible task. Canon Law has been devised by the HIERARCHY to protect the RIGHTS of the HIERARCHY!

Curates have little or no rights in Canon Law. Clergy have always said that the only right curates have in Canon Law is THE RIGHT TO A CHRISTIAN BURIAL :-)

The high court case came down to whether or not I was INCARDINATED (canonically belonging to) the Diocese of Down and Connor.

Canon Law says that the priest who wants to be incardinated into a new diocese must write to BOTH his old bishop and his new bishop expressing the desire to belong to the new diocese and if the priest has not had an answer from the new bishop within 4 MONTHS he is automatically incardinated into the new diocese.

I had written to Cahal Daly asking for incardination into Down and Connor. Cahal Daly instructed me NOT to write to my old bishop - Cardiff - that he would write to them. I obeyed Daly but in court Daly argued that because I had NOT WRITTEN PERSONALLY to Cardiff my automatic incardination into Down and Connor had not been effected.

In other words I was being punished for obeying Daly!

Apart from that I had presented Daly with a document from Cardiff which was a TOTAL AND FINAL RELEASE of me by Cardiff with permission to seek an EPISCOPUS BENEVOLENS - a welcoming new bishop.

But the high court found that as I had not dotted all the i's and crossed all the t's I was not incardinated!




It was another case of the LETTER OF THE LAW being put before the SPIRIT OF THE LAW!

But at least I made Daly accountable in the sense that he had to sit for 5 days in the courtroom as a DEFENDANT.

I took the stand and was cross examined by Daly's barristers. 

He refused to enter the stand to be questioned by mine!

When we were leaving the court on the Friday afternoon a Belfast Protestant man went up to Daly and said:

"HAVING WATCHED THE GOINGS ON HERE THIS WEEK I AM VERY GLAD THE REFORMATION TOOK PLACE".




I felt that I had had a moral victory.

I was unfairly dismissed 30 years ago for no valid reason. I never received proper DUE PROCESS within the Church.

I found the civil courts very slow to allow me to challenge the Church establishment.

Priests are in a much worse position than the Uber taxi drivers.

Priests should be able to join a trade union and be protected - including having the right to strike and withdraw their labour.

The Catholic Church is constantly pontificating on JUSTICE in the world.

Its own laws - CANON LAW - they are profoundly unjust.!  

When it comes to secrecy, corruption, cover up and the abuse of justice the CHURCH OF ROME is way ahead of the KGB, MOSAD  and the worst secret service agencies around the world. 

Jesus does not come into it. The Gospels do not come into it. Its all about power, control and money.

I don't know if I believe in the ANTI CHRIST? 

But if he did exist the RC crowd are just the kind of organisation he would be head of!


The Only Thing Necessary for the Triumph of Evil is that Good Men Do Nothing.


49 comments:

  1. Bishops also talk a lot about Mercy. This year we had the Year of Mercy with its special doors etc. and banners hanging from walls proclaiming the return of the prodigal son, and Jesus looking for the lost sheep. Bishops love to talk about mercy and have special masses and waffle on ad nauseam about this precious gift, but dare cross a bishop and they won't be quoting the diaries of St Faustina to you, but the Code of Canon Law. As many of them are canonists already they'll always have a handy answer to protect their own self interests using euphemisms like avoiding scandal.

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  2. Does the "Uber Judgement" have any legal bearing on the status of priests?
    A sub-contractor should be able to pick or choose his own work and place of work.
    A sub-contractor should be able to negotiate his own income or salary.
    A sub-contractor should be able to retire at a time of his choice - most probably at sixty-five.
    A retired sub-contractor should not have his pension dictated to him by someone, a Bishop, who claims, that he is technically, not his employer
    These are a few points which have crossed my mind - I am sure that there must be many others!
    Does the "Uber Judgement" have any bearing - particularly on the status of retired priests!
    I have a relative - retired priest - who has been treated ruthlessly by his Diocese. No increase in his pension for years - no attempt made to keep his income in line with the cost of living!
    He has been DUMPED into oblivion!
    Sam

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sam, I think a priest will have to take a specimen case and rely on the Uber judgement as case law.

      I do think it changes things.

      Delete
    2. Since my concern relates to a retired priest relative, I would point out the following -
      A PPs or CCs salary is supplemented by having his heating, lighting. phone, Housekeeper's wages paid for by the Parish.
      A retired priest is expected to pay heating, lighting, phone, housekeeper etc. from his pension.
      My retired priest friend told me that he could have managed these expenses if - as was promised - his pension would be increased to keep up with the cost of inflation ..... This did not happen,
      He is not the sort to 'rock the boat' or to cause embarrassment to his superiors.
      I believe that this is what his superiors expect -,since this priest will say nothing -,we will do nothing and we will most certainly not pay what we should.
      Is this good enough?
      Sam

      Delete
  3. The Church has no concept of human rights.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jane, they KNOW all about human rights.

      But they think they do not apply to them!

      Delete
  4. I agree wholeheartedly that a priest is in practice not a contractor. However other complications arise, for example,

    The priest is normally paid by an independent, registered charity known as the parish. He is not typically paid by the bishop, although in smaller parishes priests are subsidized by larger parishes. But it is true that the Bishop decides how much of the 'dues' the priest gets to keep as a wage - which is completely at odds with the idea of a contractor.

    Once south of the border there is a slightly further complication embedded in A44, 2.5 of the Constitution, which reads, "Every religious denomination shall have the right to manage its own affairs, own, acquire, and administer property, movable and immovable, and maintain institutions for religious or charitable purposes". Therefore even if the priest is an employee the Church barristers do have another place to hide. This said, I doubt that any modern day judge would allow a church to use this paragraph to violate the constitutional rights of priests... hopefully.

    On the issue of wages I remember a priest (in Ireland) getting a call from the neighbouring parish, which happened to be in the next parish. The neighbouring PP was asking for a supply one weekend, to which the priest I was with refused. After the phone call he asked why should he supply cover to a priest earning €32,000 when he earns €18,000. It boiled down to money, which was at one level very sad, but at another level somewhat indicative of the disparity that is out there.

    Pat, on a personal note can I say that I am sorry to hear your story. I always am because it communicates a level of injustice that is stamped onto your heart. It is obvious that it was stamped in a consciously destructive manner by Cathal Daly. I don't want to sound like a d1chhead bishop, who would say that abusing you will turn you into a saint. But I do want to say thank you for choosing to turn that suffering and injustice into a ministry. You communicate a light in the darkness that is the Catholic Church and the Catholic Church cannot overcome you.

    CR

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MourneManMichael2 November 2016 at 11:41

      Well said CR.
      In view of the Uber judgement, is there any priest in Northern Ireland being currently dealt with in a manner similar to Pat's unfortunate experience with Daly? If there is, and with a reasonable chance of success, I wonder if followers of this blog could be interested in a crowd funding venture to break this diocesan stranglehold over priests?
      It would certainly shake up the RC church and even if the case proved unsuccessful, the ensuing publicity might well bring about some sensible compassionate changes.
      MMM

      Delete
    2. On such a case there is surely a solicitor/barrister who would take it on on a 'no foal no fee' basis, perhaps Mary McAlease herself might come to his aid.

      Otherwise, yes, I would support the crowd funding idea.

      CR

      Delete
    3. Also, Thank you MMM.

      CR

      Delete
  5. It certainly looks like a priest is an employee according to

    http://www.cpaireland.ie/docs/default-source/Students/Study-Support/P1-Corporate-Laws-Governance/contract-for-services-v-contract-of-services.pdf?sfvrsn=0

    And this applies even if the priests is paying his taxes as a self employed person.

    Aside from that I do like the way religious priests get pocket money, after bed and board is supplied. But because they get pocket money the can apply for a medical card and every social welfare benefit they can get their hands on - despite the fact that they work for rich organisations who fail to pay them minimum wage. This is an outright abuse of a system designed to support the genuinely poor people in society.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There was a case in England, before Uber, cited as JEG v The Trustees of the Portsmouth Roman Catholic Diocesan [2012] EWCA Civ 938. This was a child abuse case. The Diocese said it was not 'vicariously liable' (i.e., responsible) for the child abuse as the priest was an 'office holder' not an 'employee'. The priest was not treated as an employee by the Inland Revenue, for example; however the court found that the priest was akin to an employee in that he was 'controlled' by the Church and the Church was therefore liable for the acts done by him in the course of his ministry including child abuse. In view of this case it would be extremely difficult for a bishop to argue against his priests being employees. Athlone Andy

      Delete
  6. Interest information gleaned here.
    Is it a fact that the priests get only a portion of the dues
    Where exactly does the rest go?
    That's me and dues finished, I will instead pay my dues in a brown envelope to my parish priests, noT necessarily The pp...
    No way do I want to support
    the Brady bunch

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, priests only get a portion of the dues. This is how it works;

      The bishop states the 'minimum wage' for the diocesan priest. The priest keeps this amount, plus a set percentage of any dues above that amount. The rest is sent to a central fund. That central fund is then used to bring priests up to the 'minimum wage' in parishes that do not have as great a capacity to raise dues.

      I do not know what happens with an excess in that central fund. Perhaps it rolls over into leaner years?

      The 'minimum wage' however varies substantially across the country. And of course what I have just described may only apply to my local diocese. I do know that in some diocese the 'minimum wage' is higher for PPs than curates, but this is not universally true in Ireland.

      Note also: a bishop is typically PP of any parish with an administrator - this entitles the bishop to draw down a priests wage for each such parish. Whether they do or not is an individual choice, but it may have something to do with legally accessing the central wage fund... (this however is just my curious brain's speculation) I hope the charity regulator makes them publish these accounts in the near future.

      Delete
  7. Pat I never read all that about you and Cathal b4
    Good for you keeping your faith in God
    Your family must be proud of you
    Do u have a law degree, you could be very useful to some poor downtrodden souls and get paid their legal fees....Legally too

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm thinking that if Francis comes to Ireland, we should set up a protest about how you were treated, pat.
    Anyone got any ideas?
    Otherwise I've no interest in even bothering about Francis or his big crowd following

    ReplyDelete
  9. I see Putin wears a cross....I what religion if any is he?
    Not a communist by this pic

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Putin is very close to the Russian Orthodox Church.

      Delete
    2. PS: You can be a Christian and a communist at the same time.

      Delete
  10. The current situation in the Church of England:
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/11441293/How-about-a-living-wage-for-our-poor-clergy.html

    ReplyDelete
  11. When I took my dispute with Daly public and put severe pressure on him he offered me the following Church tribunal:

    1. There would be ten priests on the panel - 9 he would choose and 1 I could choose from a list given by him!

    2. Daly would be able to me but I could only write to them!

    3. The panel could see Daly's file on me - I could not see it!

    4. I would not be allowed to know the charges against me or to know the names of any witnesses against me.

    5. Daly could appeal the panel's decision - I could not!

    6. WE would all be bound by a vow of silence regarding the proceedings!


    I told Daly where to stick his panel and that I would prefer to be tried by an IRA kangaroo court.

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  12. I think Daly's actions here represents a way of thinking that is prominent within the RCC. It is devoid of due process, and people know that they are set up for failure before it begins.

    I have heard of one priest whose Archbishop (Dermot Clifford) ran such a tribunal without the priest even being present.

    It also (with exception for the size of the tribunal) reflects how Msgr. Dermot Farrell VG ran Maynooth Seminary while he was president there.

    They speak of Justice; they Priest of Mercy; they know neither because they do not know The Christ.

    CR

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  13. QUOTE ABOUT ARCHBISHOP DERMOT CLIFFORD:

    "That bollocks across the road"

    (Bishop William Lee - of Waterford - when he was president of Thurles Seminary.

    :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I firmly believe that Fr Ted's Bishop Len Brennan is modeled on Archbishop Clifford.

      Delete
  14. Interesting conversations between Francis and Webly...
    Maybe Sean That posts here will be in his universal fold then too
    Perhaps not in my lifetime...but still hopeful

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  15. Perhaps he is a bollocks, but where is Lee now
    Lee is the bollocks for saying that out loud to whoever brought it to our attention.

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  16. So he a bishop now
    A true bollocks then, not surprising...so that 2 ........

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  17. How did the funeral go Pat ?

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  18. Pat, can someone help us here in Turf Lodge?
    Fr Mulhall arrived with us on friday, and he started to wreck the place the second he set foot into the Chapel.
    Our Saturday evening singer/musician has gone, the radio systme for the house bound has been turned off, and the webcam disconnected.
    That was all done on Saturday.
    On Sunday our Folk Group where not there also... the choir were there (thank God) but they only sang a couple of hymns...
    By Tuesday he has removed the finger print reader from the Adoration chapel door which the previous Priest put there to stop youngers messing about in the chapel.
    It seems like he can do what he wants, without anyone stopping him... there is speculation of lots of other things he plans to do!
    Loads of people have written to the Bishop but he hasn't done anything and we are really stuck here...
    someone needs to help whats left of our Parish before this man destroys the entire place!

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    Replies
    1. I feel so sorry for turf lodge parish that they have had mulhall dumped on them for a 2nd time . That man is evil and twisted there is no other discription I can use . Something has to be done about this menace . A meeting or a protest outside turf lodge church or at lisbreen . I would definitely make the trip from coleraine to join you

      Delete
  19. Who's funeral ?

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  20. Rather off this topic, but to my mind relevant to the church's attitude to personnel and property is this documentary showing the doomed Cardross seminary when it was still functioning:
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KVxMFwbWmz4
    It is apparent even then that the seminary was not nearly full, and of course it became an embarrassment to the diocese. The architect is quoted elsewhere as saying that the church can only have deliberately allowed the ruin of this listed building, which has for years been on the World Monuments Watch's list of the most endangered buildings in the world.
    The brutalist architecture suits the regimented regime of the seminary. There is rigid separation of the sexes, and the sisters' attempts to humanise their quarters with potted plants can't beat the architecture.
    The moral is that the church treats its subjects and property equally badly and people must realise that the safety of either cannot be assured in the church"s hands. It is an absolute monarchy and will ultimately care only for itself.

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  21. Looks like Mulhall, The 'Wrecking Ball' is at it again!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Re/disconnection of Turf Lodge web cam - -
      I trust that is not a permanent situation! - - If so, then that would be a disgraceful and shortsighted decision which would deprive the good people of that parish of a much needed facility that they have paid for! A web cam provides elderly and sick parishioners with the means to follow Mass and other Church events in their own homes or from their hospital beds. For people who have emigrated, it can be a much appreciated weekly link with home even if they have no family home here to return to. Not every church has one and so the privilege shouldn't be tossed aside lightly.. Make sure you get your web cam on and maintained in good working order. God bless. Cecily

      Delete
    2. Brendan Mulhall is a gravely dysfunctional man and to set him loose on any parish community is the height of irresponsibility by Noel Treanor!

      Among many things (some unmentionable) he is a bully and a dictator and a mad man.

      Why, oh WHY, does Treanor insist on employing the services of this dangerous man who causes deep hurt everywhere he goes???!!!

      Does the Redemptorist order take any responsibility for this character? Or are they just happy to get rid of him and inflict him on innocent people in coleraine and Turf Lodge??

      Delete
  22. Bishops also talk a lot about Mercy. This year we had the Year of Mercy with its special doors etc. and banners hanging from walls proclaiming the return of the prodigal son, and Jesus looking for the lost sheep. Bishops love to talk about mercy and have special masses and waffle on ad nauseam about this precious gift, but dare cross a bishop and they won't be quoting the diaries of St Faustina to you, but the Code of Canon Law. As many of them are canonists already they'll always have a handy answer to protect their own self interests using euphemisms like avoiding scandal

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hit that mulhall at Turf Lodge on the money plate. Dont contribute .stop envelopes. Hold a protest at weekend masses until the Bishop gets the message that you as Parishoners are serious and will not accept his bully tactics and intimidation behaviour.

    ReplyDelete
  24. MournemanMichael2 November 2016 at 19:36

    In relation to Pat's first blog on Priest Torturers, on 30th Oct @13:31 I invited anyone with specific concrete instances of misbehaviour by +Pat to share them here, saying that in their absence, alleged criticisms of Pat by his abusers via their retired PP friend's blog comment would have little merit, and could at best be attributed to differences of opinion and/or personality clashes.

    I haven't seen any criticism; rather the reverse. Significant I think.
    I just thought to remark on the absence before going away for a few days and possibly off line.
    MMM

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  25. I feel so sorry on the people of Turf Lodge! How does this hate filled man, Mulhall, have the power to just do away with so much, and in such a short space of time? I would think that the webcam, and radio broadcasting services all cost quite a lot of money to put in, so surely this is a clear waste of the Parish money, and who gave him the right to do away with both? Is there a Parish Council here? Were they asked what they thought? Does Noel Treanor know that this has happened and that the Parish is so upset already? and the man not even in the place a full week!!!

    My question: What is Mulhall trying to hide by cutting of all broadcasting? What is he up to and what more damange does he plan to do?

    And I agree with the previous comment about the sick and the house bound.. so now these services are off - what do those people do?

    After all the trouble he caused in Turf Lodge on his first stay there, then the upsets and fights he caused in Coleraine... Why is Noel Treanor intent on landing this cancer on parishes across the Diocese? What has Mulhall got on Noel Treanor to justify this?

    I hope that Noel Treanor listens to the community and that some action is taken before its too late... Turf lodge suffered that sad loss of one priest, then mulhall caused trauma all over the place... once the pervious priest had things just back to normal and good processes in place, it appears that Mulhall is back to wreck everything again, and cause more trauma to Turf Lodge.

    How Sad!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Who is Helen, Pat, was she connected to your oratory Or did she post here?
    RIP helen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She was a dear friend who occasionally came to Mass here.

      Delete
  27. Pat, did you lead the funeral? Or who did?

    P.S. sorry to hear- will pray for her today, on all Souls Day

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  28. They don't give two fecks about Turf Lodge. As far as they are concerned the plebs up there are all scummers. Mulhall will do them rightly. You won't see him being let loose on Derivolgie Avenue or St Theresa's on Somerton Road. Withhold the Sunday collection!!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Is Turf Lodge the parish where the late Fr Matt Wallace ministered? Whatever is going on there now I heard he was a most marvellous pastor who in the words of pope Francis really "smelled the sheep". It would be a great pity if his work was undone.
    Iggy O Donovan

    ReplyDelete