UNITED STATES
Bilgrimage
William D. Lindsey
Must-Reading As Papal Visit Nears: The Economist on “Unholy Mess” of Finances in U.S. Catholic Church
For anyone asking why so many Catholics have walked away and continue to do so despite the “Francis effect”; for those with serious concern for the future of the Catholic church; for those who care about the effectiveness of the church in proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ to the world:
This Economist article entitled “Earthly Concerns” should be must-reading.
It appears to have been published in 2012, but I just learned of it today after Tom Roberts linked it in today’s “Morning Briefing” column in National Catholic Reporter. The opening paragraph of the article:
OF ALL the organisations that serve America’s poor, few do more good work than the Catholic church: its schools and hospitals provide a lifeline for millions. Yet even taking these virtues into account, the finances of the Catholic church in America are an unholy mess. The sins involved in its book-keeping are not as vivid or grotesque as those on display in the various sexual-abuse cases that have cost the American church more than $3 billion so far; but the financial mismanagement and questionable business practices would have seen widespread resignations at the top of any other public institution.
That’s a recurring refrain in the essay: The financial mismanagement and questionable business practices [of Catholic leaders] would have seen widespread resignations at the top of any other public institution.
Or: “In a public company, this type of thing would attract regulatory scrutiny.”
Or:
In a corporate bankruptcy, if insurance is relevant to the reason for the company’s failure then its insurance policy has to be listed as an asset. Not so those of the Catholic Mutual Group (CMG), which stepped up its help for Catholic dioceses in the mid-1980s—a time when liability insurance became too expensive as a result of the increase in sexual-abuse claims.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.