The ACP was critical of those arguing for an earlier return to public Masses than the original Government plan of July 20. In the end, they returned on June 29, but with strict limits on numbers.

Killala priest Fr Brendan Hoban said Church income was “in free-fall, and will be (it appears) for some time”.

Church collections were “the main-stay of parish life” and restrictions imposed due to the pandemic were having a drastic effect on these, he said.

Fr Hoban said there was “ a strange belief hanging around for years that the Catholic Church has plenty of money”.

“This is a persistent fallacy, beloved of critics of the Church, even though it’s glaringly obvious that without church collections there’s no other form of income available. The Catholic Church is as rich as its adherents are generous – no more and no less,” he said.

Meanwhile, in Dublin’s Catholic Archdiocese a voluntary redundancy scheme was introduced for all 82 staff members in the diocesan support services and parish pastoral workers during the summer with hopes that a third of staff might partake. It was oversubscribed.