In spite of closing over 50 parishes, several schools and the sale of the primary residence of former bishops and cardinals who resided in Boston, the archdiocese continues to lose money. This year it was $8.3 million while last year was only $2.5 million. The overall deficit is $46 million. Dire.
The Herald lays it out for us here.
Reuters also has an article about the financial problems that continue for Boston here.
In summary, $151 million has been spent on the sex abuse scandal. That number includes settlements, counseling, prevention programs, litigation and insurance contributions.
Cardinal O'Malley has said: "We're poised to stop the bleeding," and he is hoping for a balanced budget by 2008.
Very interesting when the Archdiocese just released information that claimed more people were attending Mass than ever before. I don't know if anyone really believed that story. I know I didn't. I just chalked it up to another public relations gaffe like when the Archdiocese was claiming that some of Paul Shanley's victims had been abused by their own fathers. That trial balloon was floated here from the Globe.
The future:
To date the Church has settled claims with more than 650 victims, but at least 200 more are working their way through legal channels, according to Mitchell Garabedian, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs.
Still unreported are the salaries of the top officials in the Archdiocese something I would be very interested to see. Priests have been told to expect "pension adjustments". That should make vocations skyrocket.
2 comments:
As a means of turning the financial crisis in the Boston Archdiocese around, do you think they could get a refund for the part of the $151 million that they spent on "counseling" and "prevention programs?"
A radio talk show host aired locally was congradulating parishioners for decreasing their donations to the Church, which I understand is contributing to the deficit problem I'm not sure I can cheer like he was if that means attendence is down, too.
If people leave the Roman Catholic Church, where are they going to go? I fear what happened in my family during the 1970s is happening all over again .... people are just drifting away.
Back in the 1970s Roman Catholics were for the most part well catechised enough not to waste their time with Protestantism, but they suffered penitentially, outside the Church not knowing what to do or where to go.
My advice for Cardinal Sean: Read Ecclesia Dei and comply generously. Take the bull by the horns, be orthodox, and take on the Enemy straight on. It's time for a counter-offensive in this spiritual war what has been raging for 100 years now. We were winning until 1962. Time for a springtime offensive.
Post a Comment