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	Diocese Makes Financial Progress By Michael Paulson Boston Globe May 1, 2009 http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/05/01/diocese_makes_financial_progress/ Hires new team at high salaries BRAINTREE - The Archdiocese of Boston is continuing its slow but steady progress digging out of a deep financial hole triggered by the clergy sexual abuse scandal but is still facing an enormous challenge in salvaging its pension fund for retired priests, church officials announced yesterday. As it rebuilds financially, the archdiocese is turning to a new team of lay professionals, several of whom are being paid high salaries. The new superintendent of Catholic schools, Mary Grassa O'Neill, is being paid $325,000, and the new general counsel, F. Beirne Lovely Jr., is earning $300,000. Two other top officials, chancellor James P. McDonough and development director Scot Landry, receive $250,000 each. The archdiocese yesterday released the annual financial reports for the central administration and, in aggregate, the 292 parishes, as well as for more than 60 other Catholic organizations, including schools, hospitals, cemeteries, and social service agencies overseen by Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley. For the first time, the archdiocese is releasing individual financial reports for 102 parishes, a significant step toward fulfilling O'Malley's delayed goal of publicly reporting every parish's finances each year. Archdiocesan officials said they were heartened that contributions to parishes rose 4 per cent in fiscal 2008 and that the archdiocesan annual fund-raising campaign slightly surpassed its $15 million goal. And they said indications are that contributions are holding steady this year, despite the recession. "The continued generosity of the parishioners in the Archdiocese of Boston despite very challenging times is inspirational," said the Rev. Richard M. Erikson, the archdiocesan vicar general. Erikson credited the archdiocese's financial officials with transforming "a diocese that was in economic free fall" to one "in the midst of a major turnaround financially, and in many other ways." Erikson noted that the highest salary goes to the church's top education official, which he said reflects the archdiocese's priority on strengthening its schools. He said the salaries also reflect the cardinal's decision to recruit experienced laypeople to help transform an often criticized church administration. "The salaries we have are an indication of the cardinal's commitment to attracting the most talented and gifted people we can find to serve in the church," he said. The archdiocese is hoping to balance its budget by fiscal 2010, which begins this July 1. The deficit in fiscal 2008 for its central administration was $4 million, which the archdiocese said was a decrease from about a $15 million annual deficit when O'Malley first arrived in Boston in 2003. Church officials said the archdiocese spent $5.4 million settling 55 abuse allegations during fiscal 2008, bringing the total spending on settlements through last summer to $141 million, to settle 1,070 claims. As has been the case for several years, Boston's archdiocese said its biggest financial problem is the weak health of the funds it sets aside to care for disabled and retired priests, which are currently $114 million short. Officials said the pension fund will run out of money in two years without major change.The church's historic handling of the funds for those priests, which largely came from contributions from churchgoing Catholics at Easter and Christmas, has been angrily questioned by both priests and laypeople. Some of those critics suspect the money was mishandled, and others question to what degree the funds were used to quietly support priests accused of sexual abuse over the years. McDonough has commissioned an investigation into how the funds were handled over their 27-year history and has pledged to release it in June or July. He said this week that so far there is no indication of any criminal misconduct. McDonough said that in order to shore up the funds, the archdiocese will need to increase revenues and reduce expenses. He said the archdiocese will take several steps to raise money for the funds, including the humble cardinal headlining a gala benefit this year, pegged to the 25th anniversary of his becoming a bishop. Chastened by the furious reaction from priests and the public to an earlier proposal to cut clergy retirement benefits, the archdiocese has also held multiple meetings with priests to discuss proposed changes to benefits and housing. Church officials plan to roll out those changes over time, but pledge that retired priests will be well cared for. The financial reports also reveal that the new headquarters building in Braintree was valued at $25 million when it was donated to the archdiocese by Thomas J. Flatley, who died shortly afterward. The archdiocese spent $8 million renovating, furnishing, and equipping the building - money that came from a portion of the proceeds from selling the church's former headquarters in Brighton to Boston College. "We see the pastoral center as an investment in the future of the archdiocese," Erikson said, noting that the building, which houses 225 employees formerly spread across six structures, is already being heavily used by a variety of groups for training sessions and other kinds of church meetings. He also said the building's chapel is proving a draw, noting that about 100 people attended daily Mass there during Lent. The report is largely reflective, looking back on the fiscal year that ended in June 2008. But it also includes several predictive comments that shed light on how the archdiocese is being affected by the economy and what its concerns are going forward. Among the projections is a grim forecast for the troubled Catholic schools of the region. Enrollment at parish elementary schools is expected to drop by 4 percent next year and by 9 percent at the few remaining parish high schools. The archdiocese, which recently assigned a single priest to oversee three parishes in Dorchester in what it said could be a model for how to handle the dwindling number of priests, suggests in the report that some parishes should now begin to share employees such as business managers. Michael Paulson can be reached at mpaulson@globe.com
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