Diocese Releases Costs Of Clergy Misconduct

By John Rather
New York Times
March 2, 2003

In what appeared to be a concession to a lay Catholic group, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre last week released a financial report detailing diocesan spending.

The audited statement, for the one-year period ending last August, showed total diocesan assets of $341 million.

The diocese also released information about a separate fund, called the Uninsured Perils Fund, that showed expenses paid for clergy misconduct totaled $2.3 million from 1985, when the fund was established, through August of last year. The diocese said the current fund balance was $10.9 million.

The diocese said the fund provided pastoral assistance to victims and covered lawsuits and related legal expenses.

It said the fund was established with $1 million from insurance reserves, and then augmented by $3.4 million raised by billing parishes for eight years ending in 1996. Subsequently, the diocese transferred an additional $6.5 million from insurance reserves to the fund. The diocese noted that the fund had earned $3.4 million from investments over the 17-year period from 1985 to 2002.

The lay group, Long Island Voice of the Faithful, which says it has about 1,000 members, is calling for a greater role for the laity and is seeking answers about how the diocese handled cases of sexual abuse by priests. It had asked for an accounting of diocese spending, including money donated by parishioners.

Kevin Connors, a co-chairman of the group's finance committee, said the release of the financial report was "an encouraging start" but would need to be closely examined.

"The existence of a financial report in and of itself does not provide Long Island Catholics with any assurance that the bishop will properly spend their future donated dollars," he said, referring to Bishop William F. Murphy, the head of the diocese.

Mr. Connors said the group wanted continuing oversight into diocesan finances carried out by independent lay Catholics.