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	St. Louis Archdiocese Revenues Drop 37%, According to Annual Report By Tim Townsend St. Louis Post-Dispatch November 15, 2008 http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/columnists.nsf/keepthefaith/story/ CC604395738A7E8C86257502000A1297?OpenDocument Like many organizations, the Archdiocese of St. Louis is struggling economically. And yet, like a lot of Americans at the moment, it's hopeful for the future. The archdiocese released its annual financial report on Friday and said its revenue dropped 37 percent — from $252 million in 2007 to $160 million in 2008 — because of decreases in investment income and contributions. And that was before the bottom fell out of the financial markets in the autumn. The archdiocese's fiscal year ended June 30. In an introductory note to the report, Bishop Robert Hermann, the archdiocese's interim leader, said that while "the downturn in the financial markets in 2008 had a significant effect on our investments and our overall results," archdiocesan officials believe their investment strategies "are sound and are well positioned to assist in providing for our long-term needs." The report also noted that payments to victims of "clergy misconduct" doubled from last year, from $677,000 to $1.35 million. That was the highest since 2005, though a little more than half what it was in 2004. The archdiocese settled 11 cases with victims in 2008, compared with 12 in 2007, according to Bernard Huger, an attorney for the archdiocese. Huger said the $1.35 million number did not take into account a reimbursement from the Diocese of Brooklyn, which split a $500,000 payment evenly with the archdiocese in the settlement of a case against the Rev. Romano Ferraro. For the first time, the archdiocese paid out more than $1 million in legal fees related to clergy misconduct in 2008. The total of $2 million — including legal fees, victim payments and clergy counseling costs (and minus insurance claims) was the second most ever, after 2004, when it was $3 million. On a subject much happier for the archdiocese, former St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke began an effort to raise $30 million to endow Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, which continues to increase its enrollment numbers. The archdiocese reported that $13 million had been raised in cash or pledges toward the endowment as of June 30. Next fall, the archdiocese is scheduled to begin a capital campaign to raise $65 million for seminary renovation and expansion. "The aging facilities and depleted cash reserves of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary require immediate attention," Hermann wrote in the annual report. "The Archdiocese will continue to subsidize the Seminary until the Seminary's endowment increases to a level that is adequate to support its operations." The seminary accounted only for about 2 percent of the archdiocese's expenses in 2008, while Catholic Charities represented the archdiocese's largest expense. Of the $200 million in expenses, Catholic Charities represented $71 million, or about 35 percent of the total. The leadership of Catholic Charities, which is the largest private provider of social services in Missouri, is in turmoil. Disagreements between its board and archdiocesan officials over fundraising led to the removal of some board members and the resignations of others. In a memo to board members last month, Hermann wrote that Catholic Charities "was allowed … to drift in a direction that began to work contrary to the desires of Archbishop Rigali and Archbishop Burke" and that the relationship between the archdiocese and Catholic Charities is "at an impasse." In the annual report, Hermann paid tribute to Burke, now head of the Vatican's supreme court, and thanked the archbishop for "his dedication and leadership." "His four and a half years of pastoral leadership and service have had a dramatic impact on the Archdiocese that we will only appreciate over time," Hermann wrote.
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