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VOTF
Bridgeport is following the Money
Voice of the Faithful in the Diocese of Bridgeport and
The Aloysius P. Kelley, S.J., Chair of Catholic Studies
of Fairfield University sponsored a conference entitled “Follow
the Money: Financial Accountability in the Catholic Church,” held
at Fairfield University on Saturday, April 28. The conference
was attended by over 125 people.
The Diocese of Bridgeport holds real property valued
on the tax rolls of the twenty-three towns in Fairfield
County
at nearly one billion dollars, according to Daniel B. Sullivan,
Vice-Chair of Voice of the Faithful. Sullivan’s report
was based on an extensive survey conducted by VOTF over
six months of all properties identified as belonging to
the Catholic Church in Fairfield County. These included
churches, rectories, convents, elementary schools, high
schools, cemeteries, hospitals, Sacred Heart University,
commercial buildings, condominiums, houses, vacant lands,
and the like. The survey recorded the appraised or market
value of these properties as determined by tax assessors
in the various towns of Fairfield County. Sullivan also
noted that such appraisals ordinarily do not include artwork,
statuary, stained glass, and other ecclesiastical ornamentation,
whose value is nearly incalculable.
Sullivan noted that that in many cases, the appraisals
appeared to be artificially low, at least in relation
to the replacement cost of the properties. He cited as
one example a stone church constructed in the late 19th
century that was appraised at approximately $150 per
square foot, and suggested that at today’s cost
of construction in Fairfield County it would be almost
economically impossible to recreate that structure if
it were destroyed.
Sullivan reported that the Diocese recently sold three
nursing homes to a commercial operator, but retained
ownership of the land that it leased for 99 years to
the new operators. No financial details of that transaction
have been released, so it is impossible to put an accurate
value on those properties. The Diocese has also leased
for 99 years a parcel of land in the heart of downtown
Stamford to a developer who plans to build a multi-use
commercial and residential development on the site. Again,
the Diocese has reported none of the financial details
of that transaction.
In discussing the evolution of the Catholic Church in
Fairfield County from its humble beginnings in 1830,
when the first Mass was celebrated in a private home
in Bridgeport, to the first Church constructed there
in 1842, to today’s complex of 87 parishes, 38
schools, 9 homes for the elderly and many other real
estate holdings, including commercial properties and
undeveloped land, Sullivan noted that Church resources
are increasingly directed to the maintenance of such
properties and are thus diverted from services to the
needy. In 2004, it appears from financial statements
released by the diocese that out of combined revenues
of over $145 million, the Diocese reported “Property
Operations Expense” of over $16 million, while
support from the Diocese for Catholic Charities represented
only a little more than $4 million.
Sullivan also mentioned that in her recent appearance
before a committee of the Connecticut state legislature
to testify against a proposal to extend the statute of
limitations in child molestation cases, the Chancellor
of the Diocese, Nancy Matthews, was quoted as saying, “Those
who will be injured most by this extension of the statute
will be the poorest and neediest among us. Resources
that would otherwise be used for their benefit will be
diverted to adjudicate claims….The Church is not
an economic bottomless pit.” Sullivan noted that
the Church has probably spent hundreds of thousands of
dollars in the past several years resisting the release
of documents detailing the history of sexual abuse and
ecclesiastical cover-up in the diocese, and that although
the Churches resources may not be a “bottomless
pit”, they are certainly very deep.
Mary Pat Fox, the National President of Voice of the
Faithful, opened the conference by addressing “Our
Role in Financial Accountability.” She stressed
the obligation of every Catholic to determine that our
contributions to the Church are used wisely and that
pastors and bishops provide a regular, understandable
accounting of income and expenditures.
Joseph F. O’Callaghan*, a member of VOTF, directed
attention to the problem of financial management and
mismanagement in the Diocese of Bridgeport. The scandals
involving Fr. Michael Jude Fay of St. John Parish in
Darien and Fr. Michael Moynihan of St. Michael Parish
in Greenwich point up the failure of Parish Finance Councils
and of the Diocese to exercise adequate supervision of
parish spending. The Diocese too failed in its supervisory
role, as both pastors, contrary to diocesan directives,
maintained off-the-books accounts, apparently known only
to themselves.
In addition, the Diocese has made only limited efforts
to render an accounting of income and expenses. Brief
financial summaries of diocesan and parish operations
for 2003 and 2004 were issued, as well as the complete
audit of the Diocesan Corporation for 2005. Publication
of the audit of the Diocesan Corporation for 2006 has
been delayed. However, no audit of the parish corporations
has been released.
O’Callaghan also reviewed the canon and civil
law relating to structure of the Parish and Diocesan
Corporations, and the Parish and Diocesan Finance Councils.
He recommended that the civil law concerning parish and
diocesan corporations should be changed to entrust ownership
of church property to the whole body of the faithful
through their elected representatives. He also recommended
that Parish and Diocesan Finance Councils should be elected
bodies representative of the faithful. Emphasizing that
the Bishop’s Annual Appeal, the cathedraticum,
and the school subsidy are all examples of taxes levied
on parishes, he invoked the principle of “no taxation
without representation,” and argued that the Diocese
should seek the counsel and consent of whole body of
the faithful before imposing these levies.
John Marshall Lee, current chair of VOTF, presided over
a lengthy discussion with members of the audience. Among
the questions raised were: the legal expenses involved
in the Diocese’s continuing effort to prevent publication
of court documents concerning priestly sexual abuse;
the financial security of the clergy, including their
salaries, benefits and rights under the Diocesan pension
plan; the possible loss of pension and benefits; the
use of insurance money to fund sexual abuse legal settlements;
the sale of church property for the same purpose; steps
taken to recover the loss of funds at both St. John and
St. Michael Parishes; legal steps taken to bring Fay
to account; and the current status of Fay and Moynihan.
*Joe O’Callaghan a VOTF Bridgeport CT leader,
professor emeritus of medieval History at Fordham University,
and author of an upcoming book Electing Our Bishops:
How the Catholic Church Should Choose its Leaders.
His talk, “The Money Trail: Financial Management
and Mismanagement in the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut” will
be posted on the VOTF Bridgeport web site over the
next few weeks. The Bridgeport
web site has also posted
an article from the Hour.
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