BishopAccountability.org
	Diocese to Cut 49 Jobs in Face of Expected Loss By Stephanie Barry The Republican May 22, 2010 http://www.masslive.com/springfield/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-28/1274512596229740.xml&coll=1 SPRINGFIELD - The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield has announced it will cut 49 positions in the face of a projected $5 million deficit in the coming year. The figure represents 36 percent of the current workforce, officials said. The layoffs will close the budget gap considerably but not entirely, according to a statement released by Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell. Some departments or diocesan agencies will be reduced or altogether eliminated, officials said. They did not release names or titles of those who will be cut from the payroll starting July 1. McDonnell's two-page statement issued on Thursday suggested the deep cuts were vital to keeping the local church afloat. "These decisions, no matter how necessary, were not easy to make," he wrote. "We have simply reached a point in time when corrective action was required if we were to sustain any level of necessary diocesan ministry and service going forward." The bishop pointed to high health care costs and a collective $9 million debt from parishes running deficits that will likely never be paid to the diocese among the factors the led to the cuts. As with many corporations and individuals, the church also grappled with declining returns on investments. "With the economic collapse, the investment income on which the diocese depended for much of the operating budget of its central offices has all but disappeared. Our remaining savings were radically diminished. The result is that proverbial 'perfect storm' that required a full review of the diocese's central activities," McDonnell said. The staff will decline from 138 to 89 employees, and the cuts include seven clergy and religious workers. McDonnell made a point in his statement that two multimillion-dollar settlements the diocese paid to dozens of clergy abuse victims had no significant impact on the diocese's finances as they were largely covered by insurance carriers. Contact: sbarry@repub.com
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