BishopAccountability.org
	Diocesan Budget Not All Bad By Bronislaus B. Kush Telegram & Gazette December 31 2011 http://www.telegram.com/article/20111231/NEWS/112319942/1101/raw_headlines The budget for the Diocese of Worcester has generally weathered the financial storms of the past few years. However, the local Roman Catholic Church ended this fiscal year with a $315,690 operating deficit after accounting for depreciation expenses of $467,874. And expenses related to the care of retired priests deeply strained the diocesan financial ledger book. For example, despite a $450,000 subsidy from Partners in Charity, the annual campaign that assists the needy, clergy retirement programs cost the diocese $1,036,127 over revenues. “Each year presents the diocese with challenges,” said Raymond L. Delisle, the vice chancellor of operations. “Obviously, this year was difficult.” The chancery recently released a report looking at its financial picture. As in recent years, the diocesan financial numbers were audited by O’Connor, Maloney & Co. of Worcester. The chancery does not present its overall financial picture in a traditional budgetary format. Rather, each department and agency is broken out separately “Our evangelizing mission, calling us to be witnesses of God’s love in the world, compels us to put our faith into action in various ways, as demonstrated in part through this report,” Bishop Robert J. McManus said. The report, which is available at www.worcesterdiocese.org, showcases a number of healthy financial numbers. For example, all offices and programs under the Central Administration operated within their drawn up budgets. The Diocesan Expansion Fund also ended the year on “a positive note,” despite “the rocky investment year.” The fund’s revenues exceeded expenses by $381,861. But, as in past years, chancery officials expressed concern about the rising costs of caring for diocesan clergy who have retired or are ill. In a letter to local Catholics that accompanied the report, Bishop McManus said that he is committed to the “well-deserved and appropriate care” for retired priests. But, he said, that “prudence dictates that continued deficit spending cannot continue.” Mr. Delisle, meanwhile, said the chancery may examine how other dioceses cope with the problem. He said the good news is that there won’t be a great influx of retired priests over the next couple of years. “We don’t see a great increase,” he said. “However, we have to come up with a solution to controlling these costs.” Officials said there are about 60 retired priests and another 120 in active ministry. In his letter, the bishop noted that ministries and services funded through Partners in Charity could also face some financial trouble in coming months, since the appeal missed its $5 million goal by $275,650. He also expressed some concern for diocesan schools, which have seen declining enrollment numbers because of the bad economy. Bishop McManus said ways must be found to increase financial aid for families wishing to send their children to Catholic schools. The report showed that local parochial schools lost about $23,000 this fiscal year. Last fiscal year, the diocese had an overall operating gain of $161,293. Contact: bkush@telegram.com
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.