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	Our View: Cardinal O'Malley and Transparency The Patriot Ledger April 22, 2006 http://www.patriotledger.com/articles/2006/04/22/opinion/opin01.txt The disclosure Wednesday by Cardinal Sean O'Malley of the Archdiocese of Boston's finances was remarkable by any standard. A church's finances - any church's books - are not subject to public disclosure laws. And an attempt to force religious institutions to open their books was wisely rejected by the Legislature earlier this year. The subject of church finances has become entwined with the years-long scandal over sex abuse of children by Catholic priests in the Boston Archdiocese. The Catholic Church had seen the numbers in the pews dwindle for decades, which resulted in sliding revenues for operating expenses. Then came the scandal and the archdiocese was sued for hundreds of millions of dollars, which had a devastating effect on church revenue. Catholics infuriated by the scandal and the reaction by Cardinal Bernard Law began boycotting the Cardinal's Appeal, the annual fundraiser for the archdiocese. The eroding financial situation forced Law's successor, Archbishop O'Malley, to close 62 parishes - a move that alienated a different group of church members. St. Frances Xavier Cabrini in Scituate, which was on the list to be closed, is one of several churches still occupied in a 24-hour-a-day vigil by parishioners. By coming forward to the media, and in separate communications to church members due this weekend, Cardinal O'Malley is trying to regain the confidence of both Catholics and non-Catholics. The archdiocese is a huge presence in Massachusetts and, as such, its financial health is of considerable interest to the general public. Cardinal O'Malley released audited financial records for two years, a wide range of financial reports covering the archdiocese's parishes, schools, seminaries and land holdings. And he made public detailed records on payments to sex abuse victims - upwards of $150 million - and where that money came from. Cardinal O'Malley stated again that the church closings were not the direct result of settlements with sex abuse victims. Further, he said the church would release annual financial reports in the future. The public cannot reasonably expect more from the church in the way of financial disclosure. And it is for Catholics to judge the way the church manages its books. The church's policy of concealment and hunkering down in the face of hundreds of allegations of criminal conduct by priests and a cover-up by their superiors was the darkest period in the history of the Boston Archdiocese. Cardinal O'Malley's pledge of transparency is a welcome change and an obvious attempt to restore confidence in an institution dedicated to, among other things, the truth.
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