No Credit Checks for Clergy?

By Jennifer Haselberger
Canonical Consultation
October 22, 2015

http://canonicalconsultation.com/1/post/2015/10/no-credit-checks-for-clergy.html

Yesterday, priests of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis received the following clarification from Tim O'Malley, Director of Ministerial Standards. As the email explains, while credit checks are required for persons who handle parish money in excess of $250, the definition of 'persons' vis a vis this policy does not include priests. Per O'Malley's email, 'credit checks are not required for priests'.

In case you are wondering why this is a cause for concern, please review my prior post 'The Next Big Scandal in the Church', or the recent article on NJ.com. Obviously, credit checks don't eliminate the potential for theft or exploitation, but they can be a useful tool in identifying problematic behavior and, when properly reviewed and acted upon, may help to prevent exploitation and other harm to vulnerable individuals.