Statement regarding budget reduction

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis
November 08, 2014

http://www.archspm.org/archspm_news/statement-regarding-budget-reduction/

From Rev. Charles Lachowitzer, Moderator of the Curia

“In order to balance the budget for the archdiocesan Chancery Corporation, leaders are reducing the budget by 20 percent (over $5 million) with staff and other expense reductions beginning this month.

Over the past several years, the archdiocesan Chancery Corporation has implemented budgets that included the development of needed resources for parishes and Catholic schools and archdiocesan initiatives. This strategic centralization of services and expansion of our resources meant that department budgets were expanded and staffing increased.

Even without including unanticipated legal and other outside professional fees, our current operational budget is unsustainable. We are called to be good stewards of the gifts entrusted us.

This budget revision is collaborative and will require that each department reorder its services to provide that which is of proven benefit to the people, parishes and Catholic schools within the archdiocese and, most important, is of greatest value to the mission of the Church.

Personnel and program expense cuts will be identified and a comprehensive plan will be presented to the Archbishop for his final approval and immediate

implementation in mid-November. The need for the 20 percent budget cut was shared with Chancery Corporation staff in mid-October.

It is important to understand that the archdiocesan Chancery Corporation is a separate corporation and this announcement doesn’t directly affect the budgets of parishes, Catholic schools and other local Catholic entities, which are separately incorporated and have their own budgets.”