BishopAccountability.org
	After Sex Abuse Cases, an Accounting By Anthony Stevens-Arroyo Washington Post February 18, 2011 http://onfaith.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/catholicamerica/2011/02/the_cardinals_new_set_of_clothes.html What would happen if the bishops called for a special collection to maintain the institution and no one gave a cent? The result, I think, would be like the tale of the Emperor's new set of clothes. We face a future in which the different segments of the church have radically different priorities but not enough finances for all of them at the same time. There might have been a time when the laity had no choice but to finance every plan of every bishop, but that day is gone. Transparency in financial matters has replaced the practices of past generations when dioceses had anonymous donors willing to provide cold cash for emergencies. Even the use of real estate holdings and stock options to pay for diocesan needs are now required to observe sunshine laws. In the ideal situation, we should be able to continue successfully managing church resources to benefit the works of Catholic America. Parishes that are wealthy continue to pay yearly quotas and congregations in need are supplemented from general funds. Moreover, although not always understood by people in the pews, government funding supplies 67% of the resources today for what falls under the umbrella of "Catholic Charities." The climate for happy cooperation between bishops as managers and the laity as contributors, however, has been soured. The pedophilia scandal by clergy and the cover-up by diocesan personnel offices have resulted in huge payout in damages and court demands. Several dioceses have declared bankruptcy. The laity often balks at bundling all money together so that giving to specific needs like education or social services to Catholic youth programs allows diversion of the people's money to court related damages. We have some recent newspaper headlines that confrontation about priorities is replacing consensus about preferences in the world of Catholic finances. When Bishop* Olmstead of Phoenix stripped the status as "Catholic" from the hospital over ethical procedures that determined the termination of a pregnancy, he did not shut down the hospital. St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center remains quite capable of continuing its care without reliance on either the bishop's finances or his authorization to reserve the Blessed Sacrament in the hospital chapel. In fact, income has risen for the hospital since the bishop's intervention. The exchange of letters between Sister Carol Keehan, the head of the Catholic Health Association and Archbishop Timothy Dolan, the President of the USCCB, led to the curious conclusion that Catholics working in hospitals recognize the authority of the local bishop to render the ultimate judgment about ethics in his jurisdiction - and of the right of hospital personnel to dissent from the accuracy of the same judgment. The multiplication of such circumstances is likely to intensify. The scenario of such a dilemma may be seen in the controversies taking place in Philadelphia, where Cardinal Justin Rigali has ignited a hornet's nest of criticism with his reaction to an investigation of how the Archdiocese handled problem priests. In responding to press inquiries about a Grand Jury finding that a cover-up had been and continued to be policy, the Cardinal initially responded with carefully chosen words that "there are no archdiocesan priests in ministry today who have an admitted or established allegation of sexual abuse of a minor against them." In effect, the cardinal was dismissing the Grand Jury findings as inaccurate. The Catholic League was snookered by the cardinal's statement. But David Clohessy, a lawyer with Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) was quick to point out that the cardinal had used the weasel words "admitted or established" to avoid guilt. The grand jury had found that the archdiocese usually avoided confronting the wayward priests -so they were never "admitted" pedophiles - and "established" meant that they already had been found guilty at trial, although the process was supposed to immediately separate such clergy from children. Catholics and journalists in Philadelphia saw through the cardinal's smoke screen again and again. The exposure led the Cardinal into quick action as "repair" for his earlier statement. Give Cardinal Rigali credit: he knows how to correct mistakes. But whether in Phoenix or Philadelphia, once bishops lose the presumption of trust, they need for a new set of clothes that are tailored to reality.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.