A WEBSITE that allows Catholics to officially leave the Church has registered more than 10,000 “declarations of defection.”
Countmeout.ie was set up in response to the publication of the Ryan report last May.
While an average of 10 to 20 people complete the declaration of defection each day, the site sees flurries of activity following negative church-related events. By yesterday it had clocked 10,000 completed declarations.
Paul Dunbar, co-founder of the website, said: “We are careful enough to tell people that it’s not a decision to be taken lightly and we suggest that people read the material supplied on the site through the frequently asked questions section.
“But I think the people using the site . . . may have been outside of the church for some time already. We have not convinced any practising Catholics to throw in the towel,” he said.
To date, the Archdiocese of Dublin has recorded 288 applications for defection, 86 of which are complete.
