DENVER (CO)
Denver Post
By Eric Gorski
Denver Post Staff Writer
The Denver Roman Catholic Archdiocese appears to be on sound financial footing at a time when its assets are threatened by clergy sexual-abuse litigation.
The archdiocese operated in the black, enjoyed a successful grassroots fundraising campaign and resembles the picture of stability, according a report issued Tuesday that covers the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2005.
But Archbishop Charles Chaput also pointed out several challenges to the bottom line, including the rising costs of insurance premiums, caring for priests reaching retirement and tending to high schools suffering enrollment declines and cost hikes.
Those are problems that a few U.S. dioceses would envy. Two dioceses - in Portland and Tucson - have filed for bankruptcy as a result of clergy sexual-abuse litigation, and others have been forced to shutter churches.