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	Archdiocese Gets Financial Boost But Parishes Hit with Clergy Expenses By Margaret Ramirez Chicago Tribune December 21, 2007 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-archdiocesedec21,1,3720786.story?ctrack=2&cset=true Increased church contributions and the freezing of a lay pension plan helped boost assets at the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago to a record $179 million in the last fiscal year, according to financial reports released Thursday. But increased costs in medical benefits for retired priests led to a loss of $15 million in parishes' net assets, a drop from $941 million in 2006 to $926 million in 2007. Of the nearly 830 clergy in Chicago's archdiocese, approximately 230 priests are retired, said Susan Burritt, an archdiocese spokeswoman. Claims related to past sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests continued to impact Chicago's church. The statements showed a total of $12 million in abuse claims paid in 2007, with all payments covered by insurance reserves, according to Thomas Brennan, the archdiocese finance director. Since 2001, the Chicago archdiocese has paid $64.7 million in abuse settlements. No church contributions are used to fund such settlements, Brennan said. The Chicago archdiocese, led by Cardinal Francis George, is the nation's third-largest and serves approximately 2.3 million Catholics in Cook and Lake Counties. It employs approximately 14,000 people in its parishes, schools, charities, seminaries, cemeteries and administrative offices. Church officials released two separate financial statements Thursday. One statement focused on the archdiocese headquarters, known as the Pastoral Center, and the second dealt with the region's 364 parishes. The center includes the cardinal's staff, church administration, ministries and services including the Office for the Protection of Children and Youth, which handles sex abuse. Brennan said the most significant reason for the Pastoral Center's increased assets was the change in the pension plan. In May, the archdiocese announced it would freeze its traditional pension benefits for lay employees. Money contributed by the archdiocese is now going into a plan similar to the profit-sharing pools offered by for-profit employers. The money is invested for employees in age-appropriate retirement funds, and account balances are tied to the financial markets. That move resulted in a one-time, non-cash gain of $118 million, helping to boost the Pastoral Center's net assets from $28 million in 2006 to $179 million in 2007. The financial statement on parishes showed weekend and holy day mass collections increased by 2.5 percent to $203 million. Contributions to the Annual Catholic Appeal also showed a substantial increase, the report said. Contact: maramirez@tribune.com
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