Camillie Sanchez, a mother of two children who attended Sacred Heart Catholic School in Homestead, designated by the Archdiocese of Miami as one of the five Catholic elementary schools to close its doors at the completion of this school year, observed:
"We know that the archdiocese has money problems, but we don't know why we are hearing this now. As a concern that many of us have in regards to the financial status of the Archdiocese, where did all of the money from Vision 2000 endowment fund go? They didn't lose multitudes of money overnight? "
(See The Miami Herald, February 1, 2009 at page 6L).
At the same time another voice wrote:
The Catholic Church needs to look at more than the economic downturn as the reason that its schools are closing. Years of covering up sexual abuse eroded the faith of millions who could no longer trust their children to their moral leadership. Church leaders lied and denounced their accusers. Only public outrage forced their hand.
The requirements of moral leadership appear to remain unlearned. A who’s who of local Catholic leaders appeared in court recently to attest to the good character of convicted felons who had stolen millions, but who had donated generously to Catholic organizations.
It was an unseemly gesture and appeared to be a choice to coddle generous donors rather than take a stand for justice. Maybe the church needs to take a look at itself to explain falling membership.
(See Susan Russell’s comments reported under “Church’s failure,” in the “Readers Forum” of The Miami Herald, February 1, 2009 at page 4L).
As disturbing as these comments are, they are not new. The Spirited Lay Action Movement and other Catholic lay organizations seeking truth, transparency, and accountability from the hierarchical leadership of the Church have written often about these same issues.
In the most recent issue of the Florida Catholic, Archbishop Favalora acknowledged that “donors” are “our sole source of income” and that he and other leaders of the Church are responsible to “work as good stewards with the money we receive from donors.” The issue is whether the Archbishop and his other self-appointed leaders have been acting as “good stewards” and, if not, what action should be taken to correct this.
Follows are some actions that we believe should be immediately undertaken:
1. As asked by Mrs. Sanchez above, “Where did all of the money from Vision 2000 endowment fund go?” The Archdiocese has yet to authorize or conduct an audit of all of the funds received in connection with Vision 2000. The Spirited Lay Action Movement has previously written several articles discussing serious discrepancies related to the Archdiocese of Miami’s reporting and allocation of Vision 2000 funds. An independent financial audit of Vision 2000 should be completed. In addition, audited results of the Catholic Community Foundation should be published as this is the custodian of Vision 2000 funds as well as other endowments that are invested.
2. Contrary to what Archbishop Favalora assumes, not everyone lost money in the stock market. People and institutions divested themselves of stock in advance of taking the types of losses alluded to by Archbishop Favalora. The Archbishop should further advise us of the names of the stock market advisors for the Archdiocese of Miami, how much in commissions they earned, whether they being held accountable for these losses and, if not, why not? The Archbishop of Miami should issue a report stating how much money the Archdiocese of Miami invested in the stock market; when it was invested; how much it has lost in the stock market; and why it was lost instead of the timely divesting itself of the stock like other prudent investors have done?
3. The Archbishop of Miami stated that the Archdiocese should not take on any further debt. The Archbishop of Miami should issue a detailed report stating how much money the Archdiocese of Miami has borrowed (believed to be in the millions of dollars); when it was borrowed; where and how much of that money was spent; whether and how much of these funds were invested in the stock market, and when they were invested; what are the terms of the repayment of these loans; and where is the money go to come from to repay these loans?
4. Archbishop Favalora also acknowledges that the Archdiocese of Miami has a finance committee as required by church law. Every Diocese and Parish has been required to have an independent functioning finance council since Vatican II. The Archbishop, Pastor, and each member of the respective finance councils should be called up to certify in writing: their names; that they are active members of the finance council; the dates when the members of finance council routinely meet; they review the financial reports on a monthly [or quarterly basis]; and that the finance council actively engages in the performance of their duties as required by Canon law.
5. Archbishop Favalora further acknowledged that each Parish “had to be financially solvent” and there will be “no more subsidies.” All of the Parishes report their finances to the Archdiocese by computer once a month. These reports should also be made available to the Parishioners.
Archbishop Favalora again believes the solution to these problems is for donors to give more money. Perhaps the real solution, as stated by Ms. Russell above, is “Maybe the church [hierarchy] needs to take a look at itself to explain falling membership” and its monetary problems.
|
