The Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Desmond Connell, has appealed to Dublin's 1,033,800 Catholics to increase their SHARE contribution by 10 per cent. The collection fell by 0.9 per cent in the year ended June 30th 1997 - in which £26.9 million was raised and expenditure came to £26.4 million - and by 5 per cent in 1996.
Dr Connell said he will not be able to continue the programme of repair and restoration of the diocese's older churches without the increase.
The diocesan bill for refurbishing churches and schools was £4 million last year and is expected to rise to between £6 million and £7 million this year.
