Fr Eoghan Haughey

Fr Eoghan Haughey, an Oblate priest and  brother of Charles Haughey died in, 2016 at the age of 82.

Last Sunday’s  Sunday Independent reported that he left €454,530 in his will.

Independent Catholic cleric Pat Buckley writes:

The strange thing about Father Haughey leaving Euro 454,530 in his will was that he had a SOLEMN VOW OF POVERTY as a member of the religious order called the Oblates of the Immaculate Heart of Mary whose main house in Ireland is at Inchicore in Dublin.

Priests, Brothers and Nuns who are members of religious orders are not supposed to own anything – not even a pencil, The rule is that EVERYTHING you have is owned by the religious order and you have to hand everything over to them.

Members of religious orders are not supposed to have private bank accounts or credit cards.

So how did Father Haughey get €454,530?

I think that this is a parable of the decline of the Religious Life in our time.

Priest Leaves Half A Million In His Will (ThinkingCatholic)

Thanks Jack Jones

42 thoughts on “Like A Boss”

    1. newsjustin

      I just glanced through the comments on his website. They’re pretty gossipy alright.

      It’s a fair point though. Maybe he had broken his vow of poverty. That’s between himself and his superiors – and ultimately whomever the vow was pledged to…

      1. Daisy Chainsaw

        Better a broken vow of poverty than chastity, but the church facilitiates both because neither really makes a difference to the power structure that they’re really interested in keeping.

      2. Janet, I ate my avatar

        I dunno
        makes you a liar and a hypocrite either way
        not someone in a position to be lecturing others

        1. newsjustin

          Let’s not rush to judge the man a hypocrite when we don’t know the facts. Here’s an informed comment from that blog:

          “An Oblate of Mary Immaculate is not in Solemn Vows. He professes simple perpetual vows. The major difference between solemn and simple vows is that one in simple vows may own inheritance but not have the use of it. He can bequest goods but not use them. Someone in Solemn vows, namely one belonging to the ancient orders, the last of which is the Order Hospitallers of St John of God, may not even own goods. Fr Haughty would have inherited from his family abut not used the money. he has now bequeathed the money after death. This is a normal phenomenon. I would have thought that Bishop Pat would have known this clear distinction.”

          1. Janet, I ate my avatar

            I was actually responding to your point about it being between him and his superiors/ chosen god. I disagree I think his flock get to call him both those things if it’s the case.
            I wasn’t assuming guilty, precedence allowed.

          2. newsjustin

            If he inherited the money, and it wasn’t against any of his vows, and he never spent any of it, then he hasn’t broken any vow.

            snowey was probably right.

          3. Daisy Chainsaw

            Funny how people who claim to be religious and follow a religious life can always find a loophole – and apologists – to justify their indulgence in some of the 7 deadly sins! Maybe he confessed every week that he had a substantial sum “resting in his account” and was forgiven every week.

          5. newsjustin

            Wait a minute Daisy and Janet. Read what I posted (which a commentator on the blog wrote). Inheriting money was (it seems) not against his vows. You have no idea where the money came from, under what circumstances, and with what legal conditions.

            Nor do we know if he ever spent a cent of this money.

            I don’t know if anyone can tell where it’s gone to now.

            Taken all of this into account, you’ve both decided to be inclined to believe that this dead man was a liar and a hypocrite. Even though you don’t know the facts and he could well be neither.

            Charming.

          7. Daisy Chainsaw

            The combination of being a Haughey and a member of the catholic clergy would leave me strongly inclined!

          10. bad@jokes

            Jeebus Justin, here’s some news for you…

            That running joke in Father Ted about money ‘resting in my account’.
            – The majority of us got it, even if it was slightly overplayed.

            You still don’t get it, do you?

            You have your Manic Street Preachers mixed up with your Charlatans…
            …your Happy Mondays confused with your Flying Lizards…

            I’d continue but I’m late for Mass.

          11. newsjustin

            That joke is based on it not being his money! It’s been stolen/embezzled and is resting in his (Fr Ted’s) account.

            This is the man’s money. The only question – if there is a question – is how having this money sits with any vows he may have professed.

  9. bisted

    …coming from Pat Buckley it would seem that the two most heinous crimes for religious seem to be the accumulation of personal wealth and be a practicing heterosexual…

      1. bisted

        …where to start with bishop Pat…didn’t he get done for conducting sham marriages for which he charged £350 a pop …maybe not quite avarice under canon law…but only he has HIV he would have been jailed…more?

  14. Daisy Chainsaw

    Seeing as the sanctification of CJH failed miserably, will they now turn to the preesht in the family for a sainthood?

  17. :-Joe

    Well that’s the straw that breaks it…

    After reading this I’m not sure I can carry on with the superstitious belief in a supernatural celestial dictator who watches over everything I do, say and think and wants to punish me for my original sin if I don’t follow the very strange, irrational and contradictory rules and guidelines passed on by anecdotal evidence of anonymous witnesses written and rewritten over thousands of years based on the ignorance of humankind in the infancy of our species.

    A sibling of haughty mchaughface and a bundle of cash… is anyone really surprised?…

    :-J

Comments are closed.

Broadsheet.ie