CountMeOut.ie was a website in Ireland, the main purpose of which was to encourage and direct Irish people to leave the Catholic Church. It was started by friends Cormac Flynn, Paul Dunbar and Gráinne O'Sullivan, after researching the process of how to leave the Catholic Church. They discovered that reforms by Pope John Paul II in the Second Vatican Council formalised the process of leaving. An official declaration of defection document had been produced by the Vatican since 2006 because of the 1% tax in Germany levied by the German Government for the benefit of Churches. The website created a PDF of this form through a three-step process, allowing users to print and send the documentation to the diocese where they were baptised. It gained some media coverage, particularly after the Ryan Report about abuse cases by some clerics in Irish Industrial schools.[1][2][3][4][5] Awards.ie declared for it a Realex Payments Web Award in 2009.[6]
Over 12,000 people downloaded a Declaration of Defection from CountMeOut.ie, but changes to canon law in 2009 made it difficult for the site to operate, according to the founder.[7]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ ""Ungodly Intentions" - The Irish Times". 7 July 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
- ^ "Interview with CountMeOut.ie founder on Irish National Radio, TodayFM (Ray D'arcy Show)". Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
- ^ "Interview with CountMeOut.ie founder on Irish National Station TV3". Retrieved 23 October 2009.
- ^ "Interview with CountMeOut founder on BBC Radio Foyle". Retrieved 13 July 2009.
- ^ Monaghan, Gabrielle (12 July 2009). "The Times - "Irish Catholics go online to lose Religion"". London. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
- ^ ""Best Social Media Campaign" Winner 2009". Retrieved 23 October 2009.
- ^ "Website that helps people leave the Catholic Church to cease operations".
External links edit
- Countmeout.ie, as it was on 18 January 2014