Dublin - An Irish retreat centre is being investigated for fraud after police received complaints about its fund-raising tactics, The Sunday Times reported. Irish police are investigating The House of Prayer on Achill Island off the west coast of Ireland and its founder Christina Gallagher, who claims to have visions of the Virgin Mary.
Some people have claimed that Gallagher and her spiritual director, Father Gerard McGinnity, pressurized them into handing over large sums of money, sometimes into six figures, at meetings in nursing homes, The Sunday Times reported.
Gallagher is alleged to have claimed in 2005 that she needed to raise 2 million euros (3.1 million dollars) for "a secret project that Our Lady had asked for that would save millions of souls," the report quoted Gallagher as saying.
The House of Prayer lost its charitable status in 2006 and is also under investigation by Irish Revenue Commissioners.
