Controversial Irish singer SINEAD O'CONNOR has launched another tirade against Catholic church leaders, after Irish bishops asked parishioners for money to compensate children sexually abused by priests.
The Dublin archdiocese was rocked last November (09) upon the release of The Murphy Commission Report, a document resulting from a public inquiry into allegations the Vatican had hidden child abuse by its priests between 1975 to 2004.
Following the scandal, Pope Benedict XVI expressed his "outrage, betrayal and shame" over the alleged abuse, but his comments went unnoticed by O'Connor - who called for the pontiff to stand down for his "contemptible silence on the matter".
Following a plea from Dublin-based Bishop Denis Brennan to churchgoers, asking for help in paying £13.8 million (£9.2 million) in settlements to abuse victims, the Nothing Compares 2 U star has once again unleashed her wrath.
In an open letter to several major Irish newspapers, she writes, "If Christ was here, he would be burning down the Vatican. And I for one would be helping him. How long do they expect us to restrain ourselves? We have put up with this bull dung for hundreds of years.
"A true Christian is someone who, in any given situation, is supposed to ask themselves what would Jesus do, then try to do that. How an organisation which has acted, decade after decade, only to protect its business interests above the interests of children can feel it has the right to dictate to us what Christians should do is beyond belief."
The singer has long had a strained relationship with authorities of the Catholic church - she famously caused global outrage when she ripped up a picture of late Pope John Paul II in 1992 on U.S. show Saturday Night Live.