The Structural Change Working Group has developed "Principles" that can help guide the development of consistent diocesan statutes for Finance Councils. On May 22, 2004, the National Representative Council of VOTF approved this document and requested its posting on the VOTF web site.

Structural Change Working Group Document

Canon Law requires each diocese to establish a Finance Council. It is to be composed of “at least three of the faithful expert in financial affairs and civil law” and is presided over by the diocesan bishop or his delegate. Canon Law outlines certain of the Finance Council’s responsibilities and, in some instances, requires a bishop to obtain the Finance Council’s consent to take certain actions. Still, Canon Law itself provides few specifics on how a Diocesan Finance Council should function. As a result, inconsistency exists in the approaches individual dioceses take with respect to individual Finance Councils and diocesan financial matters. (For more detail on Canon Law provisions on Finance Councils and diocesan finances, see Canons 492-94, 1291-97, 127, 423, 537, 1254-98, 1305, and 1310.)

These principles are based on the premise that the assets of the Church are trust property for the benefit of its whole community. It is, therefore, only fair that the community should participate in the administration of those assets and be informed about transactions involving those assets.

Canon Law enables Catholic lay persons to use their experience and talent in a meaningful way to help the Church through Diocesan Finance Councils. Given this, VOTF desires ultimately to recommend specific norms that may be adopted or adapted by a diocesan bishop to govern the functioning of individual Diocesan Finance Councils.

Purpose

The following Principles for Diocesan-level Finance Councils are intended to:

• Provide for transparency and accountability with respect to all diocesan financial matters;
• Provide for substantive and broad lay involvement in diocesan financial affairs; and
• Avoid conflict of interests in diocesan financial matters.

The Principles would apply to all diocesan entities, regardless of whether an entity is a separate juridical person under Canon law. For instance, all diocesan entities would be subject to being audited.

The Principles are intended to be implemented through norms that complement and are consistent with Canon Law and recognize and build on the documents of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, “Diocesan Finance Issues” (2002).

The Principles

1. Responsibilities of a Diocese’s Finance Council Should Be Plainly Defined.
   A Diocese should:
   • Clarify those Finance Council responsibilities mandated by canon law or allocated to the Finance Council by the Diocese, including:
     • Preparing or approving budgets and financial statements;
     • Supervising diocesan audits and selecting auditors;
     • Reviewing accounting policies and internal controls; and
     • Reviewing and approving material dispositions, acquisitions, leases, borrowings, or encumbrances of diocesan assets
   • Define those matters over which a Finance Council is to provide advice and/or consent, including:
     • Handling of law suits involving significant financial resources or which may have a material effect on the Diocese
     • Proposed material payments made by third parties (e.g. insurance companies) on behalf of the Diocese; and
     • Engaging investment or other financial advisors.
   • Provide Finance Council members with the right to inspect the financial statements and related records of the Diocese as necessary in furtherance of their responsibilities.

      

2. Participants on a Diocese’s Finance Council Should Be Collectively Representative and Competent.
   A Diocese should:
   • Develop a desired composition of the Finance Council that includes a majority of lay faithful members who are independent of the diocese (i.e., individuals (i) who are not employed by the diocese or (ii) who do not have a material business or professional interest with the diocese) and that meaningfully reflects the professional expertise available to the Diocese as well as the socio-economic, geographic and other characteristics of the Diocese.
   • Define minimum requirements and attributes for individual service on the Finance Council, including that any such individual
     • is a practicing Roman Catholic, and
     • has the experience necessary to meaningfully contribute to the Finance Council.
   • Establish a means for nominating and replacing members of the Finance Council, which may include a Nominating Committee.
3. Governance Principles and Structures for a Diocese’s Finance Council Should Be Established.
   A Diocese should:
   • Develop a structure, size and terms of service for the Finance Council that includes staggered groups of members serving over the course of years.
   • Define leadership roles and responsibilities for the council, including:
     • A Chair (normally the Bishop) to preside over council meetings;
     • An Administrative Director (normally the Chancellor) to set the agenda of council meetings and to provide the agenda and other materials to Finance Council members in advance of meetings; and
     • A Secretary to record the minutes of council meetings.
   • Define Finance Council committees to which the Council may delegate certain functions, the qualifications for the make-up of any such committee, and the procedures under which each Committee is expected to operate and communicate its actions. Committees may include an:
     • Audit Committee;
     • Budget Committee;
     • Investment Committee;
     • Nominating Committee; and
     • Executive Committee.
   • Establish conflict of interest rules and procedures for the Finance Council to follow whenever a possible conflict arises, including:
     • Requiring the disclosure of any matter that creates a conflict or that may give rise to the appearance of a conflict;
     • Prohibiting members from participating or being present during the deliberation, consideration or voting on any matter in which a member may have an interest; and
     • Documenting and disclosing council deliberations and decisions regarding conflicts of interest matters.
4. How a Diocese’s Finance Council Operates Should Be Defined.
   A Diocese should:
   • Provide for regular Council and Council Committee meetings at a frequency that permits issues to be timely, thoroughly and openly discussed in appropriate depth. Also include
     • Administrative support reasonably necessary for Council members to receive and review all matters to be considered sufficiently in advance of any meeting; and
     • A mechanism for calling more frequent meetings when needed.
   • Define the means by which the Bishop and other Financial Council members may submit matters for consideration to the Finance Council.
   • Define the manner in which Finance Council meetings are to be conducted.
5. Appropriate Disclosure of Diocesan Finance Matters Should Be Made.
   A Diocese should:
   • Regularly externally communicate certain diocesan financial information, including
     • financial statements, including footnotes;
     • audit results; and
     • significant financial events.
   • Define procedures for maximizing openness and minimizing secrecy in diocesan financial matters and Finance Council proceedings, including procedures for disclosing externally matters on which the Bishop rejects the advice of the Finance Council.
   • Provide that minutes of the Finance Council and its Committees summarize the substance of the matters discussed by it and any actions taken with respect to those matters.
   • Provide for a lay liaison between the diocesan Finance and Pastoral Councils by having someone with a membership on both Councils who makes regular reports to each Council on the proceedings of the other.

Please provide your feedback on these draft Principles to David Castaldi (dlcvotf@hotmail.com) or James DeGraw (jim.degraw@comcast.net).

You can obtain information on Parish Councils and how to start one by visiting www.cppcd.org, the web site for the Conference for Pastoral Planning and Council Development. Scroll down to the Contact CPPCD area and email or call the office to learn the name of the person in your diocese who is responsible for this activity. In dioceses where there is no designated director, the Conference office should be able to provide the name of someone who can help.

Sample PPC Foundation Documents (Adobe Reader Required)

In July 2002, the VOTF Representative Council created a working group to define what VOTF means by its Goal 3. This Structural Change Working Group (SCWG) initially consisted of nine faithful and active Catholics, young and old, male and female, from four states: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. In July 2002, the SCWG began working to clarify church structures:

1. As they are defined (e.g. in canon law, and by local statutes)
2. As they actually function, and
3. As they ought to be (to fulfill the vision of Vatican II)

The SCWG reviewed the documents of the Second Vatican Council, applicable canon law, and diocesan synod documents. The group also consulted with Fr. Ladislas Orsy, S.J., in an effort to ensure that our conclusions are sound, and that none of our statements could be misunderstood. Fr. Orsy was retained as a professional outside consultant in canon law and related matters by VOTF.

VOTF does not seek any change in church doctrine. Further, the problems which have come to light in the present crisis are more truly cultural than structural ones. This fact does not make the changes that we seek easier, but rather more difficult, because changing hearts and minds can be more of a challenge than changing rules, even in the Church.

The sex-abuse scandal has shown us flaws in the human institutional life of the church, and, as faithful members of the church, we have a right and a duty to work to correct them. This working paper represents the first steps in the process of developing recommendations for change in our church, not the last word.

We are pilgrims on a journey with no map to follow as we begin down the road, but we are trying to follow the advice of John Paul II in his letter, On the Threshold of a New Millennium, to “listen to what all the faithful say, because in every one of them the Spirit of God breathes”.

The group’s initial conclusions were presented to the VOTF Representative Council, and on September 26, 2002, the Council unanimously approved an initial working document on Structural Change. This first draft was put on the VOTF website, and provided to our membership and to the U. S. Bishops for comment.

A second draft of the working paper incorporating the comments that were received was presented to the Council at its meeting on January 23, 2003. It was unanimously approved by the Council at the meeting on February 22, 2003.

Statement of Principle: VOTF is motivated by the conviction that the whole Church should respect the dignity and intelligence of all its members (clerical and lay), and acknowledge the right and responsibility of the laity, flowing from their baptism, to use their God-given gifts for the good of the Church.

Goal: To shape structural change within the Church: We respect the teaching authority of the Church and recognize the role that the hierarchy should exercise in discernment. It is essential, however, that all the people of God be involved in this process of discernment. We will therefore devote ourselves to advancing meaningful and active engagement of the laity in the life of the Church.

Approach: We seek to achieve this goal through prayer, dialogue and education involving clergy and laity. Our approach is to work from the parish* level upwards, both because it is necessary, and because it is possible. We recognize that it is on the level of the parish and in the context of parochial norms that our children have been grievously injured. We believe that, if we can make our local faith communities models of consultation and openness, analogous changes will follow at higher levels.

In order to move toward the vision of the Second Vatican Council, we believe that it is vitally important that the faithful of each parish engage in, and enthusiastically support the formation and actions of Pastoral and Finance Councils and Safety Committees. We must empower the laity to protect our children and all the people of God.

At the parish level VOTF will:

1. Emphasize lay involvement as a starting point that is crucial to the health of the parish and of the Church as a whole.
2. Work to enhance education on the rights and responsibilities of the laity and clergy, and provide educational support and resources such as a primer on Church structure.
3. Work to empower active, collaborative, effective and representative Pastoral Councils, Finance Councils, and Safety Committees in every parish.
4. Support Parish Pastoral Councils (PPCs) by providing resources for formation of PPCs, and sample PPC foundation documents.
5. Work vigorously for immediate, meaningful lay consultation in the process of pastoral selection.

At the diocesan level VOTF will:

1. Work to empower and support active, collaborative, effective and representative Diocesan Pastoral Councils, Finance Councils, and Safety Committees in every diocese.
2. Work to create and support Pastoral Councils, Finance Councils and Safety, Committees on intermediate levels, such as vicariate and region if the diocese is so divided.
3. Work vigorously for immediate, meaningful lay consultation in the process of pastoral selection.

*Parish throughout this text refers to both intentional and geographical communities of faith.