Church Returns Sinead's Donation



Desire to avoid appearance of impropriety behind refund to newly ordained Priest O'Connor



by Jeffrey Jolson-Colburn



Irish singer Sinead O'Connor, who was recently ordained a Catholic priest by a splinter Church group that allows female priests, made a $225,000 donation which has recently been returned.



The money -- given to the Bishop Michael Cox, who ordained her -- caused an outrage at the Church, who said it gave an appearance of bribery.



O'Connor, now known as Mother Bernadette Mary, says the money had nothing to do with the ordination but for appearances sake, she must take it back. The Irish Times quotes Mother Bernadette Mary as saying, "Bishop Cox and I know that the donation had nothing to do with my ordination, but I am taking it back for protective reasons."



O'Connor and Cox have previously said the money was meant to support a healing center in Ireland. But another Bishop in the Latin Tridentine Church, Pat Buckley, says it smacked of simony, the buying of something sacred.



Cox ordained O'Connor on April 22 in Lourdes, site of the popular Catholic shrine in southern France. O'Connor has said she'll use her ordained name, Mother Bernadette Mary, for her recording career as well as in her ministry.