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PDF versionEmbezzlement expert finds hierarchy uninterested
by Robert McClory on Feb. 02, 2012
Recent reports concerning a high Vatican official who had saved the church millions of dollars by eliminating "corruption and dishonesty" in various Vatican agencies aroused worldwide interest. But no one found the stories about Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò's reform efforts more fascinating than Michael W. Ryan, a retired U.S. Postal Service security specialist, who has been trying for about 20 years to save the American church the millions it reportedly continues to lose through the embezzlement of Sunday collections and other fund sources.
Their stories bear several similarities. Almost a year ago, Pope Benedict XVI removed Viganò from his post as chief financial officer for the Vatican city-state and sent him to the United States as the new papal nuncio, despite Viganò's protest that the move could undo his clean-up campaign. Ryan's attempt to help the church clean up the loose security policies that drain funds has met with such deep-seated disinterest that he has virtually despaired of getting anywhere. He has recently written a book titled Nonfeasance: The Remarkable Failure of the Catholic Church to Protect Its Primary Source of Income. (Nonfeasance is defined in the dictionary as a "failure to do what ought to be done.")
Hearing of Viganò's removal from his Vatican job, Ryan said, "Is it any wonder I'm not getting anywhere with the hierarchy?"
For years, there's been a steady stream of news stories in the media about parish accountants, ushers, parishioners, priests and even diocesan employees stealing large sums. Several days ago, an employee of the Philadelphia archdiocese was charged with embezzling $1 million over six years. According to the most modest estimates, at least $89 million donated each year by the people never gets to the intended Catholic cause or recipient due to theft.
In 1988, Ryan began a kind of one-man campaign to stem theft. To have any lasting effect, he stated in his book, "genuinely secure procedures must be mandated from the highest level of church authority. The thought of any retail business with two or more outlets lacking a uniform system for securing its revenue ... is unthinkable in this day and age and has been for the past fifty years or more."
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His detailed plan to halt the leaks includes the use of pre-numbered tamper-evident bags
for consolidating parish collections, a minimum of three persons present when collections are counted, the use of multiple count teams that are periodically rotated, the restrictive endorsing of checks and the depositing of cash immediately or their placement in pre-numbered bags and locked in a safe with entry only to a few authorized persons. A lapse in any of these steps, Ryan says, is an invitation for disaster.
With the written endorsement of an auxiliary bishop from his home Boston archdiocese, Ryan sent about 100 packets of detailed information on establishing security for parish collections to pastors in the archdiocese's southern region and offered his service in helping implement the plan free of charge. He received not a single reply.
Over the next 13 years, Ryan sent dozens of detailed letters to the presidents of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops as well as heads of the bishops' committee on budget and finance and finance. The recipients of Ryan's call for reform included cardinals like Bernard Law and William Keeler as well as bishops and archbishops including Thomas Murphy, Daniel Pilarczyk, Anthony Pilla, Wilton Gregory and Timothy Dolan.
Many of the letters Ryan sent and re-sent were ignored, quickly passed on to other agencies or responded to in generic fashion, referring to Ryan's urgent warnings as "your inquiry" or "this matter." A few dioceses adopted variations of his ideas, but he wondered why at some point the USCCB did not mandate that all dioceses use the available tools to protect the contributions of the Catholic faithful. In reviewing canon law, he found clear declarations that an episcopal conference can draw up rules regarding collections that must be observed by every diocese. Still, he was unable to get any leading bishop to discuss the subject with him.
So in 2001, Ryan turned to the Vatican's Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and its then-head, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. It was in the form of an exhaustive petition, citing Scripture, canon law, a history of his efforts and a presentation of 17 major church embezzlements, 12 of which had been carried out by clergy. This too produced no action other than a suggestion that Ryan pass his ideas on to the Congregation for the Clergy. There, he was informed that the security of collections falls under the sole competency of local bishops. For all his trouble, Ryan had gotten nowhere. Still he forges on, making him perhaps an all-time candidate for determined persistence.
In his book, more than half of which is devoted to his correspondence with the hierarchy, he tells the U.S. bishops, "The irony of this head-in-the-sand stance is that by refusing to acknowledge the systematic nature of Sunday collection embezzlements and to address the malaise on a conference-wide basis, the USCCB is repeating the colossal error that allowed the sexual abuse scourge to last decades longer than it should have. The damage to innocent lives was far worse than it would have been had the [hierarchy] responded correctly when that scourge was first brought credibly to their attention."
The foxes are guarding the
The foxes are guarding the sheep and have no interest in helping their flocks avoid being fleeced.
Foxes don't guard sheep. They
Foxes don't guard sheep. They don't hunt sheep, either. Try chickens, which is appropriate for anonymous comments.
A better word choice would
A better word choice would have been 'sheople'.
Too many bishops today, however, are sly as a fox.
That's why we keep calling for transparency and accountability.
And the bishops?
Don't hold your breath.
sheeple perhaps?
sheeple perhaps?
for several years now the
for several years now the protocols described above have been in place in the trenton diocese periodic external audits reenforce these standards
Congratulations to the
Congratulations to the diocese of Trenton. You must have a good bishop. Praise is given where Praise is due.
A better way to say it is
A better way to say it is that the criminals are guarding the criminals, and the criminals they report to aren't watching while they rip off the parishioners.
What a revelation and not in
What a revelation and not in the least surprising given the general veanlity of our hierarchy. I always thought they were sanctimonious criminals and Mr. Ryan's efforts prove this to be all too true.
These revelatins are nothing new. Employees of Catholic Charities in the 1950s and 60s would have stories to tell that would curl your hair. Had you been an employee of a bank, you would have been doing time for what priests and bishops were doing with the faithful's contributions then. You can imagine what it must be like today.
As for the charmed life of our bishops, they proceed ever so slowly down the path to irrelevancy and to extinction because the folks in the pews are finally getting wise to them. As long as the hyper-pious continue to unquestioningly support the Catholic Church's ripoff of it's laity, the bishops will continue to wallow in decadence and arrogant sanctimony. With their priestly toadies and lay apologists carefully preserving their reputations from further scandal.
The best way to end this nightmare of malfeasance in office is to simply give your contributions to groups such as the Quakers, and a number of Jewish charities where philanthropic activities and accountability for funds is treated seriously. I predicted three years ago financial mismanagement and thievery at both the parish and the diocesan level would be the undoing of this pope and his hierarchy. We see from Mr. Ryan's noteworthy and praise worthy efforts, it is a fact of life now.
How do you say "moral
How do you say "moral cowardice" in Latin?
moralis ignavia
moralis ignavia
If the hierachs would not
If the hierachs would not themselves wash their hands in the dough, they would have taken action long ago, on their own initiative. Until Vatican 2 there was no accountability in this nation whatsoever to the laity. And since, many dioceses present only a balance sheet once a year, and not even in every diocese. The bishops have simply free reign.
In Switzerland, it is the laity in every parish who have sole control over assetts, with parish boards, and tight oversight and control, contrary to later canon laws. Title to properties as well, in most parishes, is in the name of parish laity.
In Switzerland, it is the
In Switzerland, it is the laity in every parish who have sole control over assetts, with parish boards, and tight oversight and control, contrary to later canon laws. Title to properties as well, in most parishes, is in the name of parish laity.
-------------------------------------
In the 19th century here in the U.S. parishes and schools were often in the hands of parish lay boards. Similar to the practice of many protestant churches which have long had a reputation for financial accountability and control mechanisms responsible to the people and firmly in place. Imperious bishops with their hands on the pot of loot answerable to nobody is still the norm in the Catholic Church and that has to end. The time is long past due for the clergy and the laity in American and everywhere to bite the bullet and place all church property and finances in the hands of lay overseers.
The critical layer and foundation to reforming Benedict's failing Church lies in the parish and not in the Vatican or the diocesan chancery. It starts in your parish and it must obliterate the rot and decay which has overtaken today's decrepit diocesan and archdiocesan system of church governance.
The people themselves must insist they hire and fire the priests and the bishop if need be. The laity need to step up to the bat if reform has any chance of succeeding. Don't wait for paper pushers in Rome and in the chancery to get aboard. You might as well take a walk in the park and sit and wait for Gadot.
Your pontificating shepherd has to make a choice: unfailing obediencecec and acquiescence to the Oberbishop in Rome, or leading his flock to holiness and in the paths made known to us in holy scripture and the traditions of the Early Church. He must make a choice. If necessary, you may have to make a choice too.
Re: 'Title to properties as
Re: 'Title to properties as well, in most parishes, is in the name of parish laity.'
This is something that needs to be explored further to prevent the Courts from plundering the laity's assets by suing, falsely or not,the clergy. Perhaps Trust funds need to be set up to protect the assets of the people of God.
No, title to assets is held
No, title to assets is held in the name of the Bishop, at least where parishes are not separately incorporated.
"they' think that their head
"they' think that their head in the sand is a virtue.. same as w/ abuse.. bad theology leading to bad pastoral stance is to blame.. imagine... that the hundreds of checks written to and by the NY AD embezzler were overlooked for years.
One scandal has nothing to do
One scandal has nothing to do with the other. The bishops are not moving thieves around from parish to parish the way they have with sex offenders. There is no reason for them to pay attention to this individual rather than to their own attorneys and/or other experts, and there is no evidence that his advice is the best advice available. Writing to the Congregation for Clergy is the equivalent of reporting a traffic violation to the Supreme Court, and deserves the same response.
"There is no reason for them
"There is no reason for them to pay attention to this individual rather than to their own attorneys and/or other experts, and there is no evidence that his advice is the best advice available. "
This is sheer nonsense. His credentials are the highest you could find.
I am a former member of the Association of Internal Auditors, and can attest that his recommendations would be endorsed by any member of that group.
This comment displays the
This comment displays the same amount of disinterest to the problem as the bishops seemingly have.
At the very least, don't you
At the very least, don't you detect poor management and administrative skills? Where is the level of accountability? Who is responsible, anyone? Do you just continue to allow corruption, abuse and injustice to inhabit various sectors of the Church or do you adopt policies and procedures to prevent organizational tragedies? Regardless of the nature or types of scandal....they are still SCANDALS which profoundly affect the trust and credibility of the Church...Oh by the way, yes, dioceses have moved priests for financial improprieties and subsequently assigned them to other parishes but subsequently under the more scrutinized eye of the chancery.
"The bishops are not moving
"The bishops are not moving thieves around from parish to parish the way they have with sex offenders."
Words to ponder, over and over!
Here we recently lost a
Here we recently lost a priest who embezzled $80,000.
In a diocese that is closing thriving parishes because of a priest shortage, the bishop sent a priest to jail over $80,000.
We know how much the priest "stole". We don't know the priest's salary or whether he has a pension and/or 401K.
We don't know if priest's salaries vary over the diocese.
This priest in in jail over $80,000, while another priest spent $500,000 redecorating the church and parish offices with full support from the bishop.
Control of the money needs to go to lay boards, and there has to be clear accounting for every penny!
I was a member of my parish's
I was a member of my parish's Finance Council and finally left in disgust. FCs may be required by Canon Law, but the membership is up to the Pastor and the recommendations of the FC are just advisory recommendations. The Pastor can ignore them at will. In our Archdiocese any expenditure of $10,000 or over requires the supporting recommendation of the FC. However, in case after case, when we recommended "no" the Pastor simply went to his Big Daddy in the Chancery and got permission to ignore us.
Diocesan FCs are an even bigger joke. Members therein are not as accountable and responsible as boards of condo associations. And, again, they have no real authority over anything.
I stopped giving to the RCC and have redesignated my charitable contributions to organizations with a track record of responsibility and accountability
The Archdiocese of Seattle
The Archdiocese of Seattle has had these and other safeguards in place for years. Our Archbishops have embraced the notion and promulgated policies for them. Compliance is examined in the periodic audit of parishes conducted by the Archdiocese.
I was very involved at a
I was very involved at a Parish for 15 years, ending only last year, and I can tell you that the pastor used tamper-proof bags, but that was the ONLY rule he followed. Counting teams were not rotated, sometimes there was only one counter with no supervision, people with no experience decided where money was "intended" to go, father would not even be on site on count day. It was not my job to count, but had very good friends on these teams. They would complain, but no changes were ever made. Financial reports there are a reflection of what he chose to reveal. Everything he did not want to talk about or explain was classified under Misc.
Priests should be the spiritual head of a parish... someone else should be the head of the business end of it. Priest are not suited to do this at all.
Anita, Most Catholic priests
Anita, Most Catholic priests and bishops are incompetent as pastors and as administrators. We are discovering this painful everyday. For that reason, the People of God must limit their terms of office, carefully examine their entire background and participate in the appointment process.
If there is no redress, the parish should file for association with your local Orthodox or Polish National Catholic parish. A number of Anglican churches now have former Roman rite priests as rectors (the Evangelical Lutherans too). So, you have an alternative to the scandalous and low level of performance and behavior of today's clergy You don't have to put up with this clerical arrogance and overbearing behavior.
The idea of some priest or bishop deciding what the people should or should not know about parish or diocesan finances is a scandal in itself. Your refusing to support the parish financially is just the first, but very effective way of bringing about much needed change. Our money crazy bishops need to be taught a lesson they'll never forget.
Someone is deriving benefit
Someone is deriving benefit from the embezzlement (the formal name for what is going on), or from keeping it all quiet. If an organization is resisting efforts to save it from financial ruin, then that means that somewhere, somehow, there is a reason (or many reasons) why the organization would prefer it continue.
This could be anything. It could be your average criminal embezzlement. In many organizations this might also mean many people who are catching money that "falls between the cracks" and which might be stopped by a real fiduciary process. In other organizations it might mean that the exposure is what is feared. In others it might mean that there are "slush funds" that money is stuffed into for a 'rainy day' that perhaps might not be saved for in a more formalized process. In many others it is a combination of factors. This is a human problem, not one exclusive to the Church.
What kind of issue causes this in the Church? My guess is that it is a combination of factors. Organizations with as long a history as many parishes (for instance) have long stuck money in different hidey-holes, much like chipmunks stuff seeds in cheek pouches, for "off the books" purposes. Introduce a formalized process, and those "off the books" purposes starve. These may not be bad purposes (criminal endeavors or the priests new car) at all. They could be targeted charitable works, for instance, for a given family. But those who are doing the "stuffing" might fear that they could not be justified in a more formal process and thus resist tight financial reform. I am guessing the "stuffers" would likely be right.
--Andy Jo--
You are totally right.. the
You are totally right.. the total parish 'hidy holes' could reduce the national debt. Yes... A pastor could use them for good reasons too. 'Those b-----ds downtown [AD] would use these accounts for themselves'
Embezzlement? Loss of funds?
Embezzlement? Loss of funds? People enriching themselves at the Church's expense? Why is that any of the laity's business? Their job is to pay, pray, obey -- and pay more.
And keep their noses out of the hierarchy's business. And pay more.
The reason the catholic
The reason the catholic church hierarchy does not want an accurate, independent audit of the application of funds, use of funds, and prevention of embezzlement is that funds are often miss-appropriated by priests and bishops to be used in areas for which the donation was NOT DESIGNATED. Of course some priests and bishops have embezzled themselves, so there is that opposition also in the way of the financial truth. Why should we expect anything but lack of hierarchical support for any independent, qualified effort to hold people accountable to the truth? Nothing else being done by the church is held accountable to the call from Christ for real, sharing and loving discipleship, apostolic work, and priestly ministry of all members to each other and out to the world. It is now and has been for centuries an effort of hierarchical control.
WHy aren't more of our
WHy aren't more of our bishops sharing a cell with Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff?
We're all aware of the dire
We're all aware of the dire financial straits Ireland is in at present and when the boom to bust period was in its decline our Allied Irish Bank loaned the RCC in the USA 400,000 dollars of tax payers' monies and you can bet your bottom dollar this will not be recovered. I have tried to highlight this to the church throughout Ireland but as is the norm in such cases all communications are studiously ignored and greeted with a stunning silence. The same with a 'possible' paedophile case last year, I got 2 solr. letters from the priest in question whilst he was living openly with her 2 children and showering and sleeping with the young son. He'd even been at the birth of the twins - do you think anything was done about it - yes, that's right - another stunning silence from the Irish hierarchy. Any wonder we're being drip fed the sordid saga of abuse that continues even in the present day?
The diocese of Fort Worth,
The diocese of Fort Worth, under the late Bishop Joseph Delaney, instituted these very security measures several years ago. It was a bit of a pain in our parish since no one suspected any wrong-doing, but better safe than sorry.
I don't know at the dioceses
I don't know at the dioceses level but at my parish within the Seattle diocese those of us in the pew get a financial statement every year that tells me only in broad stokes how much money came in and how much went out. The income is better documented than the outcome. I confess to being lazy about pursuing it further.
And pay the price.
And pay the price.
The polish national catholic
The polish national catholic church has had joint laity-clerical control at the local church level.As far as i know they dont have the fiancial messes we have. why dont we look at least at a fellow church as an example.
What, and destroy the 100%
What, and destroy the 100% hegemony over the parish and its finances that the clergy has allocated to itself via canon law that they wrote, approved and enforce?
Shirley you jest. The ontologically favored will always have the last say until a major reformation happens yet again. Or until the last participant in the "smaller purer" church locks the doors, turns out the light, and turns the keys over to the court-appointed receiver.
I worked for years in
I worked for years in parishes in a diocese in a western state. In this diocese almost all of these recommendations, plus a few others, were put in place to guard against exactly the types of things that have happened in parishes where money is embezzled, etc.
Our diocese has implemented
Our diocese has implemented several of the proposals Ryan has promoted. Initially, priests and people reacted badly. "How dare you!" Many parishes have seen income increase 3 - 15 % in recent years after the reforms. Years ago, I was at a parish where the couple who ran the carnival went to Vegas for a week every year after the carnival. I hired new security, and that year the couple had to cancel thier trip. Needless to say, they were never allowed to work the carnival or the bingo again. Couldn't prove it, but we all knew it...
A out west a parish financial
A out west a parish financial council met while the new pastor was late to the meeting. A member noted that the donations increased sharply in the last month ...even though the new pastor gave poorer homilies. The old parish secretary interruped and said.." we get a lot of twenties now and we never got them before'
All heads snapped and a drum roll was heard.
It seems that the Catholic
It seems that the Catholic hierarchy are really no different than CEO's of secular organizations. Protect the company name at all costs, persecute whistle-blowers, avoid any taint of negative media attention. Makes you wonder about the HOLY in ONE, HOLY,CATHOLIC AND APOSTOLIC! This is a generalization but there seems to be much truth in it.
Why wouldn't they be
Why wouldn't they be uninterested. Its not their money.
USCCB doesn't have time.
USCCB doesn't have time. They are too busy monitoring our sex lives...
Like the bumper sticker
Like the bumper sticker says:
IN GOD WE TRUST.
All others must pay CASH!
http://www.ironydesign.com/store/index.cgi/religioushumor.ironydesigns.9...
(written by the Vatican?)
I remember meeting a priest
I remember meeting a priest who admitted he had stolen money not only from the poor box but also from the weekly collections. Why? To support his drug habit. This was just one priest. How many more have done the same thing? I'm not surprised at all.
I am not surprised at the
I am not surprised at the reaction of the Catholic Church hierarchy to the problem of embezzelement in the church. This is how it reacts to any question of the authority and power of the church hierarchy. It is unfortunate that we have looked to the Church to be a moral authority as we are left with an institution run by humans with human weaknesses who listens to noone. Decisions are made within the hierarchy to protect the church's image. I stopped giving any money to the Catholic Church long ago. I did not want to be supporting the actions of the institution regarding the sexual abuse scandal. The financial scandal is just another example of something that has been kept under wraps and now that it is seeing the light of day, we will start learning about all the suspect financial dealings. When will people learn that the only way to get the church to sit up and listen is to stop the flow of money.
The Diocese has had
The Diocese has had independent outside auditors examin its books annually since it was established. The recommended procedures (the use of pre-numbered tamper-evident bags for consolidating parish collections, a minimum of three persons present when collections are counted, the use of multiple count teams that are periodically rotated, the restrictive endorsing of checks and the depositing of cash immediately or their placement in pre-numbered bags and locked in a safe with entry only to a few authorized persons) have been diocesan policy for parishes for at least the past ten years. More recently parishes are also subject to independent audits.
Not all bishops refuse to implement sound practices.
If I can't trust the
If I can't trust the hierarchy with my children(see abuse of power),there likewise is no way I will trust them with my money. I'll reconsider when a bishop gets prosecuted for his crimes. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
There is no oversight of the hierarchy. Their secrecy is absolute.
Most embezzlers start with
Most embezzlers start with the intention to pay back the money. There is just this emergency.... It goes downhill from there. Good intentions, setting aside rules, and soon one into serious sin. All very human. Good controls protect potential embezzlers as well as the church, or any other organization.
A few years ago the pastor of
A few years ago the pastor of our parish in the St. Louis Archdiocese explained to me that he has the "money counters" do their work after the collection from the 10:30 AM Sunday Mass came in. The collection from the final Mass at noon was lumped in with the pre-noon offerings the following Sunday. Msgr gave me two reasons for this: It allowed the money counters to get back to their families earlier, and it provided "petty cash" that he could draw on through the week to respond to needy people who came to the rectory. Surprisingly, I never did anything with this information - nor did all those "money counters" who observed the practice week after week, year after year.
Real financial controls and
Real financial controls and reporting would mean the bishops would not be able to dip into funds to do whatever they wanted without people finding out about it.
Thanks Roberto, as usual you
Thanks Roberto, as usual you have a knack for “throwing grist into the mill”. On second thought instead of calling it a knack, I prefer to call it a divinely inspired “charism”, which I see as part of your “extended vocation”.
“Looking in from the outside” I see this reticence on the part of USA bishops as part of their “EPISCOPAL SYNDROME” that attempts TO EXTRACT from every member of the USA Roman Catholic Church, BLIND FAITH in every opinion of the USBC: whether about the bedroom-manners of your “lay folk ”; or the “supposed sexual-manners “ of your clergy from bottom to top; or your peoples’ voting-booth-preferences; or your peoples’ intelligent study and calibration of today’s scientific bio-ethical medical field with relation to “personhood”, stem-cell investigation, concerning “all abortions” , the human rights of your “gay people” etc.
Or as you so blatantly suggest -- your ordinary “church goers” “must have BLIND FAITH” even in that sticky mine-field where our friend St. Karl Marx claims: “every problem has an economic base”. (quote from my 84 year old memory).
As a comical, but real memory of mine from 1956: in my first parish on the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua (800 parish members living in our 95% “Catholic town” and 30,000 campesinos living in the “mountains and bush”) I used to carry the “Sunday collection” (all coins) from the church to the “rectory” in the palm of my hand, and just tossed it into an old coffee-can which I emptied and counted at the end of each month.
As you might be able to infer from my reflection, I have the impression that the problem of embezzlement is a typical “first world” conundrum.
Please keep on analyzing and writing, Roberto, since it’s part of your wonderful way of “pushing along the cart of the Kingdom of “Abbá, Father, here on earth, just as it is in heaven”: working for that “other possible society”, that “other possible world” and especially, that “other possible Church” that some people believe was founded by that slob prophet, Jesus of Nazareth.
Justinano de Managua, el 2 de feb. 2012
After receiving our financial
After receiving our financial giving statement for the past 4 years, I've called the parish office to inform them that our financial statement was wrong. Each year it has been at least $250 or more off. This reflects only one statement from a parish of at least 1300 families. It makes me wonder who is accountable.
It is apparently more
It is apparently more important for the hierarchy that people say, "and with your spirit" than it is for them to exercise good stewardship of the money people donate to the church from their hard earned efforts. Since they really don't know what its like to "make ends meet" and still exercise their stewardship of their churches, they see this as unimportant. Thans for bringing the problem to light.
I just quoted Ryan on page 10
I just quoted Ryan on page 10 of Jason Berry's, Render Unto Rome, on a C4C website that was looking at embezzlement in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, AND proper parish collection standards.
Compliments to the NCR for this article and to Ryan for his incredibly persistent and formidably appropriate efforts, to clean up church finance.
We must understand that the
We must understand that the Bishops don't have time for trivia such as mishandling of money and sexual abuse of childten.
For our own good they must concentrate their attention on making sure we say "consubstantial with" instead of "one in being with" in the Creed. More importantly they have to make sure the Credo (I believe) starts with I and not we.
Such is life at the Boys' Club.
So I guess it's really true
So I guess it's really true what the Deacon's wife said one day a number of years ago when her husband was in service at one parish in the Denver metropolitan area, "The real scandal in the Catholic Church isn't the sex, it's the money!"
Both parishes and dioceses
Both parishes and dioceses must be subjected to rigorous, independent audit.
Both pastors and laity have been guilty of theft of parish funds, and every parish should be subjected to audit. If I were a Bishop, I would want to have a handle on the finances in my parishes, and to keep everybody honest.
This does not mean that all pastors and parish finance committees cannot be trusted, but to audit is only prudent and reasonable.
I know that our parish has
I know that our parish has implemented security procedures in the last few years that sound very similar to the ones described by Ryan. These were put into place due to the efforts by the Business Adminstrators of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee (BAAM). Of course, that doesn't mean that all the parishes have adopted these guidelines. The only abuse I've ever heard of in any of the parishes I've worked at was a past incident (before I was there- now about 40 years ago) by a pastor not passing on the Good Friday collections for the Holy Land...it got rectified while I was there - now about 25 years ago. With all the contributions being hit by all the controversies, I'm beginning to wonder if I'll have a parish position much longer...there are repercussions beyond the "hitting them where it hurts" mentality. I'm the only bread-winner (church pay as it is) with a disabled spouse. I love my ministry...
The reason I can't stop
The reason I can't stop donating yet is that there are lay persons, friends of mine from way back who still earn their livings working for our Diocese. I have retired and soon all my pals will have retired including our pastor, whom I respect. It won't be long...
God Bless Michael Ryan for
God Bless Michael Ryan for his efforts. As for the bishops, they are enabling more criminals. This is what they do best.
obviously ratzo has something
obviously ratzo has something to hide in sending to Siberia the watchdog, and ratzo knows why Luciani lasted only a month, with his wild and reckless proposal to reform the Vatican Bank, vacating thus in death the seat amply filled by the nonfeasant wojo
No further donations to the
No further donations to the Vatican,as none go to USCCB. Pretty soon I'll be left with local food pantries only.
As Shakespeare might have
As Shakespeare might have written in "Hamlet," something is rotten in the catholic church today." We have the ongoing sexual scandal and now more financial problems in this country and the Vatican. The American bishops probably need to pay more attention to what is happening within their local parishes instead of creating a political storm over the so called, "war on religious freedom by the government."
My diocese (Rochester, NY)
My diocese (Rochester, NY) has instituted all these safeguards which Ryan is promoting, and is vigorously enforcing them. It has caused a lot of grousing in the parishes (along the "they don't trust us" or "more work, phooey" lines)but we're all doing it. Not rocket science, and not that hard to do...
In 1927 my godfather was
In 1927 my godfather was asked to replace an usher, on a temporary basis, at the 7:30 AM Sunday Mass in our South side Chicago parish. The pastor became suspicious when the usher flew back to Chicago from New York in order to take up the collection. Forty years later my uncle retired from his temporary ushering job.
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