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COMMENTARY
Anatomy of a SETBACK: Accountability Denied?
[As this issue went to press, discussion was ongoing in the State House, Boston,
Mass. This editorial is an overview of the most recent developments on the
Senator Marian Walsh bill. We will publish the outcome of the various aspects
of the struggle to pass the bill in the next issue of In the Vineyard, February
9.]
In a letter to “friends in Christ” in the Boston Archdiocese,
Archbishop O’Malley requested that calls be placed to representatives’ and
senators’ offices to oppose Senate Bill 1074, which passed the Senate
by a vote of 33-4 months ago and is now in the House for a scheduled January
25 hearing. In part, the Archbishop said, “A requirement that churches
and religious organizations register their charitable activity with the government
is inconsistent with our Nation's and our Commonwealth's constitutional guarantees
of religious freedom.” The Archbishop also stated that opponents of the
legislation are doing so out of disagreement with Archdiocesan decisions over
parish closings and finances. The bill, in effect, holds churches to the same
model of transparency currently in place for all charitable organizations by
reporting their finances to the Commonwealth Secretary of State (William Gavin,
another supporter of the bill).
Vigorous lobbying by the Archdiocese of Boston alongside other non-Catholic
religious denominations, coupled with Governor Romney’s implied plan
to veto the bill as being unduly “intrusive,” conspired within
hours of the House discussion to dampen hopes for passage. Meanwhile, VOTF
and supporters made the following points:
STATEMENT in Archbishop O’Malley’s letter: “…religious
organizations would be placed under the oversight provisions of the Massachusetts
Public Charities Law, which empowers the Attorney General to investigate the
use of charitable funds.”
FACT: Senate 1074 does not do that. In fact, the attorney general of Massachusetts
already has the power to investigate the use of the charitable funds in all
public charities, including religious organizations. (MGL. Chapter 12, sec
8H and MGL Chapter 68, sec. 18.)
STATEMENT also in the Archbishop’s letter: “They want to use legislation
as a means of exercising control over the affairs of the Archdiocese and its
parishes.”
FACT: It does not exercise control over the affairs of charities. There are
no sections in Senate 1074 that exercise control over any charity in Massachusetts.
This bill is narrow and only treats public financial disclosure. The legislation
is about transparency and accountability.
In an effort to counter increasing distortion and mis-statement of facts,
VOTF distributed a short list of points to share with State Representatives
and others:
-
Currently, all public charities except for religious charities, must file annual
standard financial reports to the Commonwealth. This is the same form that
your local Little League or food pantry routinely fills out each year.
- This is not a new idea. The present exemption was granted in 1954. This
bill will just restore the reporting obligation that was in effect prior to 1954.
-
This is not a matter of “Church and State.” Churches
are granted their tax exempt status because they are charities not
because they are churches.
(To exempt churches as churches would violate the US Constitution’s
First Amendment.)
- As citizens of the Commonwealth, we have a right to demand that all charities
do not abuse the benefits granted by their tax-exempt status. The Commonwealth
has the obligation to its citizens to ensure accountability and transparency
in the donations they make to charities.
In a last-minute effort to save the bill as opposition seemed to solidify
on grounds of constitutionality, John Hynes of the Boston VOTF Steering Committee
made the following appeal to area VOTF members:
In response to those concerns and to the growing sense that it would be in
the
best interest of all if we could address those concerns, we are joining with
other proponents of Senate Bill 1074 in supporting the action requested below.
Please contact your Representative Wednesday morning (January 25, 2006)
and let him or her know that as a member of Voice of the Faithful you are
in favor
of a vote in the House of Representatives seeking an advisory opinion from
the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts on the constitutionality of Senate
Bill 1074.
In the end, and in the absence of the Hynes suggestion, a campaign of misinformation
and fear mongering may hold the day over the obvious benefit of public disclosure – the
very coupling that brought the Catholic Church the sexual abuse crisis may
again trump conscience. Children told that they would go to hell if they “told” and
adult “men of God” purchasing their silence in one way and another
for decades flourished in secrecy. Four years later, little has changed in
the one arena where the sexual abuse of children could never have happened – transparency.
Supporters of the bill will not abandon their battle for accountability among
the state’s charitable institutions. They will meet with those who were
unable to support the bill and work through the morass of concerns all parties
have brought to the table. Stay tuned.
See the Boston Globe editorial on Jan. 25 “House
of Candor” and “Follow
the Money”.
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