BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe
By Steve LeBlanc, Associated Press | November 10, 2005
Churches and other religious organizations would be required to disclose their finances like other nonprofit groups under a bill overwhelmingly approved by the state Senate yesterday.
Supporters of the bill, which was approved on a 33-4 vote over opposition from the Catholic Church, say there is no reason to exempt religious groups. They say the secrecy helped the church in Massachusetts hide the sex abuse scandal from the public.
One way to prevent a repeat of the scandal is to bring the finances out into the light, said backers of the bill, which now heads to the House.
''We have a law that enables that darkness," said state Senator Marian Walsh, a Boston Democrat and chief sponsor of the bill in the Senate.
''Moral transparency and financial transparency are inextricably linked," she said.