The Conference of Religious of Ireland (CORI), is an

umbrella organisation An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...

for

religious institute A religious institute is a type of institute of consecrated life in the Catholic Church whose members take religious vows and lead a life in community with fellow members. Religious institutes are one of the two types of institutes of consecrate ...

s active in the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland. It has 138 member congregations, with a combined membership of over 9,000. It is organised in both

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. It was formed in 1983 as the Conference of Major Religious Superiors (CMRS) by the merger of previously separate organisations of male and female orders. CORI's Justice commission campaigns for

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...

and

poverty reduction Poverty reduction, poverty relief, or poverty alleviation, is a set of measures, both economic and humanitarian, that are intended to permanently lift people out of poverty. Measures, like those promoted by Henry George in his economics clas ...

measures and produces an annual response to the Irish Government's

budget A budget is a calculation play, usually but not always financial, for a defined period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including time, costs and expenses, environmenta ...

. CORI has participated in the "Community Pillar" of Social Partnership negotiations in the Republic since 1996. In 1990, before the current name was adopted, Charles Haughey famously dismissed a CMRS report ''Must the Poor always Wait?'' with the quip, "I am always a bit doubtful about any organisation that has 'major' and 'superior' in its title." In 2002 CORI negotiated a settlement with the state on behalf of 18 member congregations implicated in institutional sexual abuse, which paid €128m raised from sale of property to fund compensation claims from abuse victims. After the media revealed the terms, this settlement was criticised as too small a fraction of the total compensation required, estimated at €1.3b, and because the scheme gave anonymity to abusers. The news rather dented the group's "pure and

self-righteous Self-righteousness, also called sanctimoniousness, sententiousness and holier-than-thou attitudes is a feeling or display of (usually smug) moral superiority derived from a sense that one's beliefs, actions, or affiliations are of greater virtue ...

" image. After the 2009 publication of the report of the

Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse The Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (CICA) was one of a range of measures introduced by the Irish Government to investigate the extent and effects of abuse on children from 1936 onwards. Commencing its work in 1999, it was commonly known ...

, CORI director Seán Healy suggested the religious institutes should increase their payment to 50% of the total compensation. A further €348m was offered by 18 institutes in late 2009. President Mary McAleese addressed delegates at a CORI conference in Malahide on 17 April 2010. In March 2011 the CORI-sponsored National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland (NBSC) complained in its annual report that it could not perform a child safety audit on the Church, as the Church was denying it information, citing legal advice. Funding for its training programmes in child protection had unexpectedly ended in 2009. The NBSC is also jointly sponsored by the Irish hierarchy and the Irish Missionary Union.''Vatican instructs all bishops to draft abuse guidelines''; Irish Times, 17 May 2011
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References

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External links

CORI official site
Catholic Church in Ireland Catholic organizations established in the 20th century Christian organizations established in 1983