The Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh, said yesterday the Catholic Church was "not in the business of profit-making" after he donated lands valued at €10 million to provide services for Ennis's elderly population.
In the move, the diocese of Killaloe is to donate 15 acres of land in Ennis adjacent to Cahercalla hospital to provide for a day-care centre and housing for the elderly.
Speaking on the hospital grounds yesterday, Dr Walsh said: "I am perfectly sure that the church holding a lot of land for itself is not in any way part of the Gospel. What I'm sure is that it has an obligation to act responsibly."
Confirming that he has initiated a discussion amongst local clergy and the diocesan pastoral council to examine how Gospel values can be applied to the question of church property and finance, Dr Walsh said there was no room in any church for "simply exploiting the market".
"It has a responsibility to act in a responsible way in this regard," he said.
"I measure how civilised society is by the way it cares for its elderly . . . a lot of the prosperity that we have today is due to the hard work and generosity of our elderly people and I think it would be very sad if we simply neglected them," said Dr Walsh.
"The extended family is no longer there and it tended to take care of the country's elderly. It is a particular issue which our society today has to take very seriously."
Dr Walsh said some elderly people needed special care and "this is an effort on our part to some way respond to that. It is very sad if elderly people are isolated."
As part of the move, a trust has been established to ensure the lands will always remain in local control and will always be used for care of the elderly.
In the first phase of the development, a day care centre to cater for 60 people daily is to be provided, along with 12 individual houses for those with housing needs. Previously, the lands were used to provide food for boarders at the nearby St Flannan's College.
The cost of the first phase is €2 million and fundraising is to commence locally.
Fiacre Hensey, general manager of Clarecare - which provides daily services for Clare's elderly community and is involved in the initiative - yesterday praised Dr Walsh's move.
"It is brilliant. It is a phenomenal gesture. It is typical of Bishop Walsh's humanitarian nature and he has always been very much in favour of any project to do with the elderly," Mr Hensey said.
"Given the size of Ennis's population, there is a huge lack of facilities for the elderly."
The community-based 'Cuan an Chlair' will oversee the development of the centre and homes, and its chairman, Jackie Browne, described the move by Dr Walsh to donate the lands as "an unprecedented gesture".
