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	Study Suggests No Foul Play in Funds for Priests By Michael Paulson Boston Globe July 1, 2009 http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/07/01/study_suggests_no_foul_play_in_funds_for_priests/ Archdiocese seeks to calm mismanagement concerns BRAINTREE - The Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, trying to assuage suspicions among some priests and laypeople that its troubled trusts for ailing and elderly priests have been mishandled, is releasing a lengthy accounting study that finds no evidence of theft or mismanagement in the 37-year history of the funds. The study raises several potential red flags, pointing out that accounting controls were not tight enough to prevent theft and asserting that there are not enough records to determine how much money was used before 2000 to support priests accused of abuse. But the accounting firm said there is no indication that money is missing. The firm also said that the archdiocese retained all the records it was required to retain and that all evidence indicates that money contributed at Christmas and Easter was used to benefit priests as promised. The study was released yesterday, as the archdiocese was in the midst of overhauling its policies for providing assistance to retired priests. It has warned that, even though the funds have taken in $336 million in contributions and investment income over the last 37 years, they will run out of money in 2011 unless expenses are cut and fund-raising is increased. Like many employers, the archdiocese has experienced a sharp increase in health costs in recent years, and its retired priests, like most Americans, are living longer, meaning that the costs of financing their retirement has risen. But the archdiocese has some unique issues to contend with. As the number of men entering seminaries has plunged, the average age of priests has skyrocketed, so that today 36 percent of all Boston priests are retired, up from 16 percent in 1991. And priests earn low salaries and have no children, meaning that their resources in retirement are often modest unless they have inheritances to fall back on. Last month, the archdiocese announced that it was cutting the stipends for priests who are unable to work for long periods of time, and now the archdiocese is circulating a draft policy on housing for retired priests that will end archdiocesan support for assisted-living facilities and nursing homes, helping priests instead to get Medicaid benefits. The archdiocese will encourage priests who do not live on their own or in rectories to live in Regina Cleri, a retirement home for priests that, starting today, will be managed by Covenant Health Systems, a Catholic elder care company founded by Canadian nuns. Currently there are about 270 retired priests in the archdiocese, of whom about 55 percent live on their own, 28 percent in Regina Cleri, 22 percent in assisted-living facilities or nursing homes, and 20 percent in rectories. There are about 500 active priests in the archdiocese. The archdiocesan vicar general, the Rev. Richard M. Erikson, said in an interview yesterday that the study was intended to restore confidence, particularly among priests, in the benefits funds and that the cuts are necessary to increase the “efficiency and effectiveness’’ of the funds. But Erikson and several other top church officials pledged that the archdiocese would continue to safeguard sick and senior priests and that none would go without shelter or support. “From the start, the cardinal has made clear that he is absolutely committed to provide for the care of our priests,’’ the chancellor of the archdiocese, James P. McDonough, wrote in a letter to priests. The clergy benefits funds - which include four trusts that pay for the care of priests who are sick, retired, and on leave - have emerged as the most serious financial challenge to the archdiocese since the sexual abuse crisis. The accounts are underfunded by $114 million, and are spending $15.5 million a year while taking in only $5.5 million. The archdiocese says the main reasons for the funds’ woes are not only the rising average age of priests and the increased costs of healthcare, but also the fact that the benefits were dramatically expanded in 2001 and that annual fund-raising has remained flat. The study found that, between 2000 and 2008, the archdiocese spent $15.8 million from clergy benefits funds to support priests accused of sexually abusing minors. It was unable to determine how much was spent for that purpose previously. Because the benefits funds were established to support priests, it was appopriate to use them to support priests on leave facing accusations, the archdiocese said. But because some priests and laypeople are now uncomfortable with that policy, the archdiocese is setting up a separate account, funded by money left over from the sale of church property in Brighton to Boston College, to support accused priests. The reports have been greeted with skepticism by Peter Borre, a longtime critic of the archdiocese’s management of the pension fund. Boree is chairman of the Council of Parishes, an organization of Catholics resisting parish closings. “This really documents the suspicion that I have had that money was diverted away from clergy retirement and put into clergy benefits, not for yachts or trips to Vegas, but for use by priests on administrative leave,’’ Borre said. “There remain unanswered questions which should be addressed, but it’s up to the priests to say what should be done.’’ Michael Paulson can be reached at mpaulson@globe.com
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