Church finances in shambles

By Gaynor Dumat-Ol Daleno
Pacific Daily News
July 30, 2014

http://www.guampdn.com/article/20140730/NEWS01/307300001/Church-finances-shambles

Parishioners gather near Monsignor James Benavente, front right, as he delivers the closing prayer during a prayer service on the steps of the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica in Hagåtña, yesterday.

Residents gather for a prayer service in front of the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica in Hagåtña, yesterday.

Archbishop Anthony Apuron yesterday said Monsignor James Benavente was removed as rector of the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica because of poor financial management.

The Cathedral-Basilica and the Catholic cemeteries are millions of dollars in the red, according to the archbishop, and accounting practices are so "inappropriate" the cemeteries' funding cannot be properly audited.

Apuron released a statement, shortly before a huge crowd of Benavente supporters gathered at the steps of the Cathedral-Basilica, that he decided "a change in administration" at the Cathedral-Basilica and Catholic Cemeteries of Guam Inc. is necessary so accounting practices can be re-established and financial audits can be completed.

Benavente, who had been the rector at the Cathedral-Basilica for nearly 20 years, declined to comment on the allegations.

He did say a prayer before a few hundred of his supporters who gathered despite strong winds and rain outside the Cathedral-Basilica and across the street from the church in Hagåtña.

The archbishop didn't attend the event.

The gathering was a show of solidarity for Benavente, said Jon Calvo, who helped to lead the event.

Many people cried, hugged and formed long lines to greet Benavente. Local dignitaries, including former Gov. Carl Gutierrez and Gov. Eddie Calvo, Chief Justice Robert Torres, senators and other public figures and some members of the clergy stood and joined the crowd who prayed for Benavente.

Apuron stated that the Cathedral-Basilica and Catholic Cemeteries of Guam Inc., both entities under the Guam Catholic church, needed a management shakeup because both owe $7 million in debts, which have been reduced "only marginally."

The $7 million accounts for nearly "one-quarter of the total indebtedness of the Archdiocese of Agana," the archbishop stated.

Some Guam Catholics have urged the archdiocese to publicly disclose its audited finances, as other churches in the nation have done.

Through a review, the archbishop stated, "I am pleased to tell you that the overall financial situation of the archdiocese is healthy and that the debt of the archdiocese in the past 10 years has been reduced by 20 percent."

The statement didn't disclose what the money from the debts was used for.

Apuron said he and the Archdiocesan Finance Council have agreed that yearly audits will be conducted on the finances of entities under the archdiocese.

Accounting firm Deloitte & Touche LLP has found that financial record-keeping, "especially of the Catholic Cemeteries of Guam Inc., are inappropriate," Apuron stated.

The announcement from Apuron yesterday didn't state when audited financial statements will be made public. Other U.S. dioceses release their annual audit reports.

A critic of Apuron, blogger Tim Rohr, has stated that the local Catholic community is concerned about an attempt to transfer the title of one of the church's largest real estate assets from the archdiocese to those managing the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Yona.

The property on which seminary is located is a former 100-room, oceanside hotel that could be worth $35 million, Rohr has stated. The archdiocese bought the former Accion Hotel more than a decade ago for $2 million, Pacific Daily News files show.

Another Guam Catholic blogger, Charles White, author of "The Thoughtful Catholic," said the attempt to transfer title of the former hotel property has ties to the Catholic sect Neocatechumenal Way.

"To many of us, he seems to be under the control of the Neocatechumenal leadership, and he does not seem to be acting in the best interests of his diverse flock here," White stated. "Some time ago, about two years ago, I believe -- at the request of Neocatechumenal leadership, the archbishop proposed to convey the seminary property in Yona to a nonprofit organization controlled by the Neocatechumenal Way," White stated. "This property is conservatively estimated to be worth $35 million," White stated. "When his finance council and legal counsel objected, he fired the finance council members who objected and appointed new members who would agree."

Neither Apuron nor the archdiocese have answered questions about the alleged transfer of title to the former hotel property.