All 288 Parishes in Archdiocese by Year's End Will Be Incorporated As Individual Nonprofits
By Gregg Krupa
The Detroit News
September 27, 2007
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070927/LIFESTYLE04/709270386/1041
Some Metro Detroit Catholics are expressing concerns about a change in the corporate structure of the Archdiocese of Detroit after Cardinal Adam Maida informed priests that by the end of the year all 288 parishes will be incorporated as individual nonprofit institutions.
The archdiocese, including the parishes, has existed as a single corporate entity for generations.
Maida and other church officials say the change merely conforms with how the legal, financial and organizational structure of the archdiocese is treated in civil law.
"While this idea may sound new to some, it has been in effect in dioceses throughout the country for many years," Maida wrote the priests on Sept. 19. "Be assured that the day-to-day life of the parish will remain the same. This decision is not made in response to any crisis, nor are there are any civil or canonical court proceedings pending that would call into question the status of church property."
But some Catholics wonder if the move is intended to make it more difficult for plaintiffs to sue the archdiocese, especially after the sexual abuse scandal involving the actions of priests in recent decades.
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Three local lawyers who have sued the church in the past said the change might make it marginally more difficult to recover damages from the archdiocese in civil suits, in some cases, leaving the parishes to pay the damages.
The Rev. Robert McClory, chancellor of the archdiocese who oversees many administrative matters, echoed Maida in saying that the change brings the local church, which serves more than 1 million Catholics in six counties, in line with how civil authorities perceive the structure of the church.
"In church law, there is a clear delineation of rights and responsibilities to the parishes," McClory said. "This is about trying to make sure that civil law reflects what is in church law. The relationship between the parishes and the archdiocese will be substantially unchanged."
Although some say they hope it means more independence for individual parishes, the archdiocese is tamping down those expectations.
But some Catholics asked whether parishes would control their own fates, rather than answering to the archdiocese on questions of whether to close parishes for lack of financial support and a dwindling number of parishioners.
The answer, officials said, is "No."
They asked whether they would still have to forward a portion of Sunday collections to the archdiocese, because the central office will be less responsible for administration. The answer, church officials said, is "Yes."
But even some who express concerns about the affairs of the church think that the new order may be welcomed, ultimately.
"It is something I think that we want," said Thomas Kyle, a member of a group of concerned Catholics called Elephants in the Living Room. "However, it raises a lot of questions and concerns. Some attorneys have looked at it and raised some issues."
Kyle and others said many local Catholics have exchanged e-mails, musing over what the change will mean, and a group of priests who run parishes in the city of Detroit that may ultimately face closure raised questions at a recent meeting.
But some 260 priests from the archdiocese gathered Wednesday for an every-other-year retreat at Boyne Mountain discussed the change, and few raised questions, McClory said.
You can reach Gregg Krupa at (313) 222-2359 or gkrupa@detnews.com.
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