Parish
Closings Fast Facts
January 14, 2004 statement on
Parish Closings
February 3, 2004 letter from Jim Post and
John Hynes to Archbishop O’Malley
March 8, 2004 VOTF statement calling for
moratorium
March 9, 2004 letter from Steve Krueger
to Chris Coyne
March 31, 2004 letter from John Hynes
to O’Malley
March 31, 2004 Letter from Mark Maloney,
Boston Redevelopment Authority, to Bishop Richard Lennon
May 7, 2004 statement by John Hynes
Flyer for May 23, 2004 event
Financial Implications information |
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MEDIA ADVISORY
DRAFT FOR DISCUSSION
As of December 22, 2003
Church Closings and Diocesan Finances Financial Implications:
A Boston Overview
Prepared by
David Castaldi
Member, Voice of the Faithful
Former Chancellor, Archdiocese of Boston
Church Closings and Diocesan Finances - Draft
Financial Implications: A Boston Overview
December 22, 2003
- The Archbishop
of Boston held a meeting with priests of the diocese for December
16 at which “reconfiguration of parishes” (i.e. the need to close
some parishes) was discussed.
- Church/parish
closings have important pastoral and financial considerations.
- Only
financial considerations are considered in this draft.
- It is easy
to make a case for the need to reduce the number of parishes
- Personnel
Issues: There are too few priests, many of them nearing
retirement, to pastor 357 parish communities
- Parish
Finance Issues:
- There
are many parishes with relatively few parishioners
and inadequate parish financial resources to sustain
them.
- Many
parishes have church buildings that have physically
deteriorated and cannot afford the major and costly
repairs that are needed.
- Diocesan
Finance Issues:
- The
diocese does not have the financial resources to sustain
this uneconomic model.
- The
budget for the Central Fund of the diocese is running
a large deficit because for two years donations to
the Cardinal’s Appeal (now, The Catholic Appeal) have
been dramatically below the level reached in prior
years.
- The
diocese cannot, therefore, subsidize all the parish
operations that are running deficits and have large
capital needs.
- The sex
abuse crisis and settlement have only an indirect impact
on potential church closings.
- The “direct” drivers
are parish and diocesan finances and personnel issues
- Given
that the sex abuse crisis has impacted the economic
well-being of both parishes and the diocese, it is
an indirect driver.
- The
financial consequences of the crisis make it easier
for parishioners to understand the need for some parish/church
closings.
- If parishes/churches
are closed, who will get the money (including proceeds from sale
of property)?
- Background
- Types
of parishes
- Geographic
(the normal parish with geographic boundaries).
- Personal
(mostly national or ethnic parishes without
geographic boundaries originally established
around language needs which, for the most part,
no longer exist because Italian, French, Polish,
Lithuanian, etc. immigrants now speak English.)
- Types
of closings
- Mergers
(two or more parishes combine into one)
- Suppressions
(a parish is closed or terminated and the geographically
dispersed parishioners must find a new parish(es)
- “Ownership” and
Type of Closing
- Civil
Law: Parish assets are owned by a corporate
entity with the name, “Roman Catholic Archbishop
of Boston, A Corporation Sole.” The assets of
all parishes are part of this one corporation.
- Canon
Law: Parishes are separate “juridical persons” and
have certain specified rights,
- In
a merger, one juridical person (a parish)
is merged with another juridical person
(another parish) with the result that
a juridical person (the combined parish(es))
still exists.
- In
a suppression, the juridical person (a
parish) ceases to exist.
- Who
(and how and why) decides whether a parish
closing is a “merger or suppression.”
- Ultimately
the archbishop decides, hopefully
with significant consultation with
the parish communities involved.
- If
two parishes are geographically
contiguous, a merger is the normal
decision.
- Suppression
is typically used in “national” parishes
which, while physically situated
within the boundaries of a geographic
parish, have no natural link to
that geographic parish because they
served a language-based national
need. When that language-based need
no longer exists, the need for the
parish ceases to exist.
- Who
gets the money (including the proceeds for the sale
of any real property such as a church building)?
- Civil
Law: The money belongs to the corporate entity, “Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Boston, A Corporation
Sole.”
- Canon
Law: The money has, however, typically been
distributed by the diocese differently depending
on the type of closing
- Merger:
The new juridical person, the combined
parish(es), gets the money.
- Suppression:
The juridical person ceases to exist and
because the money belongs to the “Corporation
Sole,” the “central fund” of the diocese
or “chancery operations” receives the
money.
- Can
a “juridical person” who does not own
the assets (e.g. a parish) count on general
canon law to protect how money is distributed?
The short answer is “no,” but there is
a longer answer
- A
diocese should not use any property
for a purpose different from the
intention of the donors without
their permission
- It
may, however, be difficult to determine
who were the donors and what were
their intentions.
- Whether
a judicial proceeding in a Church
tribunal would be possible is uncertain,
but that is not a good approach
for many reasons.
- The
most important factor may be a non-legal
one: the “court of (Catholic) public opinion” would
make it extremely difficult for any bishop
in any diocese, especially in Boston,
to use a geographic parish’s money for “central
fund” purposes without substantial consultation
with the laity in the involved communities.
- In
all cases a parish pastor is the “administrator” of
the parish juridical person and can give
parish money to the “central fund” of
the diocese without lay consultation.
- The “court
of (Catholic) public opinion” might
effectively prevent such action
without consultation with the laity.
- For
the good of our one Church it should
be noted that in some instances,
the best use of the funds could
be the “central fund.”
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