For Immediate Release

Five Questions All Catholic Donors Should Ask Before Giving to Their Diocese’s Annual Campaign

Voice of the Faithful Offers National Donor Guidelines to Help Bishops’ Appeals Achieve Financial Transparency

Newton, Mass. – Oct. 30, 2003 – Donations are down in virtually all Catholic dioceses in America, and the American Catholic Church continues to decline in influence and resources. Yet, the need continues to grow for the good works and charitable services that the Church has traditionally provided. How can diocesan fundraisers help restore lay trust in the institutional Church and re-start the flow of much-needed lay donations into diocesan coffers?

Lay Involvement & Diocesan Disclosure Needed

Voice of the Faithful (VOTF), the 30,000-member lay organization dedicated to rebuilding the Catholic Church through meaningful reform and lay participation, today asserted that diocesan fundraisers must involve laypersons in Church financial matters in more meaningful ways than mere “window dressing” financial councils, which, according to spokesperson Luise Dittrich, “when they exist at all, often contribute little more than ‘rubber stamp’ approval for the bishops’ free hand in financial matters.” In addition, dioceses must adopt new and permanent levels of financial transparency, disclosure, accountability, openness, and honesty.

“The other side of the financial coin is constant additional vigilance and demand for disclosure among lay Catholic donors,” said VOTF Executive Director Steve Krueger. “By now, it’s a truism that corrupt organizations cannot police themselves back to moral soundness, but instead, they need outside help to do so. The days of ‘pay, pray, and obey’ on the part of passive lay Catholics must give way to far greater vigilance and higher expectations of their Church leaders.”

Five Questions Every Catholic Donor Should Ask

Based on input from VOTF members and other Catholics nationwide, Voice of the Faithful has developed the following questions as guidelines for Catholic giving to diocesan capital campaigns:

1. Where is this year’s money going to go? (Disclose the year’s budget, in detail.)
2. How has last year’s money been spent? (Disclose details, program by program.)
3. What is the diocese’s entire financial condition? (Disclose the consolidated balance sheet for ALL diocesan corporations.)
4. In dioceses where there are financial settlements of sexual abuse claims, how will the diocese raise the amount needed? (Disclose the full plan, including any new mortgages.)
5. What are the names of the Boards of Trustees for ALL diocesan corporations? (There should be no secret or anonymous members.)

Accept Lay Expertise in Developing Disclosure Policies, Urges James Post

When announcing VOTF’s guidelines, the group’s president, James E. Post, noted, “Recent public opinion poll data shows that over 75% of Boston-area Catholics believe laypersons should be more involved in the financial management of Archdiocesan affairs. And nationally, we see tremendous evidence of this viewpoint among American Catholics in every region.” Post, a professor of ethics and public policy at Boston University’s School of Management, added, “We encourage Catholic dioceses across the nation to accept help from financially experienced laypersons in order to achieve the level of transparency and accountability currently demanded of virtually all other charitable institutions. For Catholic dioceses to answer Catholic donors’ five simple but important questions will be a healthy start.”

Post went on, “Transparency signals the cherished values of openness and accountability, and says that a diocese has nothing to hide. These are values that lay Catholics – and all Americans – are yearning to see in our spiritual leaders and public institutions. Most U.S. dioceses have much to overcome to win back the trust of thousands of faithful Catholics, many of them substantial donors in years past – including many Voice of the Faithful members.”

VOTF executive director Steve Krueger, added an appeal for “Catholic harmony and unity, for the well being of those in need in dioceses across the nation, and for the Gospel values we all profess.” Krueger encouraged all dioceses “to accept the intellectual gifts of Catholic laypersons in finding ways to rebuild trust and restore the financial stability of the Church in America.”

For interviews and/or further development of this timely story, please contact Luise Dittrich at 617-680-2131, lcahill2@votf.org.

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About Voice of the Faithful: Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) is a worldwide movement of concerned mainstream Catholics formed in response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis. The group's mission is to provide a prayerful voice, attentive to the Spirit, through which the Faithful can actively participate in the governance and guidance of the Catholic Church. Its goals are to support victim/survivors of abuse, support priests of integrity, and shape structural change within the Catholic Church in full accordance and harmony with Church teaching. VOTF's supporting membership exceeds 30,000 registered persons from more than 41 U.S. states, 21 countries and 188 Parish Voice affiliates throughout the world.