Just over two months ago, Bishop John McCormack promised to release an audited financial statement of the Catholic Diocese of Manchester. But as NHPR?s Raquel Maria Dillon reports, the Diocese hasn?t kept its promise and some parishioners are concerned.
These were Bishop John McCormack?s words:
McCORMACK :17 I pledge that with the assistance of the Diocesan Finance Council I will publish an audited financial statement of our diocesan administration, and make it available to every parish and parishioner by the end of this March 2003, and every year thereafter.
It was one of his boldest promises that night in Concord. McCormack was speaking to priests and Catholic lay leaders from around the state. It happened a week before the New Hampshire Attorney General?s office released its investigation into how the Diocese handled sexual abuse charges.
But the Diocese?s self-imposed deadline came and went. New Hampshire Catholic activists, suddenly mistrustful of their leaders, are beginning to wonder what?s taking so long?
DISCO :06 there?s somewhat of a slogan, ?not one dime until McCormack and Christian resign.?
Carolyn Disco is a member of two organizations that are calling for McCormack to resign ? New Hampshire Voice of the Faithful and Catholics for Moral Leadership.
Disco says many Catholics want to make sure their donations don?t go to defending abusive priests or paying off victims of clergy sexual abuse.
Unlike the Boston chapter of Voice of the Faithful, neither organization has called for Catholics to withhold their contributions.
DISCO :11 we?ve had such a culture of secrecy and that needs to change. So that people are asking questions and want to follow the money and know where their contributions are going.
At least 7% of local parish collections go to the Diocese for administrative expenses.
Many parish communities are seeing weekly collections on the decline. The parish council at Disco?s church, St. John Neumann in Merrimack, decided to find out why. They conducted an informal survey of churchgoers in February. About 20% of the respondents said they have stopped or decreased their donations to the parish.
At least half cited the clergy sexual abuse crisis, Bishop McCormack, or mistrust in the Diocese as some of the reasons. (St. John Neumann was also the parish where the pastor stole the Christmas collection money. But only 15% of the survey?s respondents cited that reason.) Other parishes also polled their members ? but their numbers vary.
The U-N-H Survey Center conducted a scientific poll on behalf of WMUR Channel 9 in early February. They found that 22% of New Hampshire Catholics attend Mass less frequently because of the sexual abuse issue, and 25% contribute less.
That?s similar to what Father Georges de Laire is seeing at his two churches: Our Lady of Lourdes in Pittsfield and St. Joseph in Northwood. But he comes to a different conclusion.
DE LAIRE :17 Given the fact that attendance has increased over past year, my only perspective is that people are feeling the economical crunch and are not able to be as generous.
But at the same time, the two churches managed to raise a total of 6-thousand dollars for local charities.
Manchester Diocese spokesman Pat McGee says the financial statement is on its way. The Diocesan Finance Council, he says, is simply trying to close the books and update the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2002.
McGEE :18 The audited statements for last year don?t reflect payments for settlements of past complaints of abuse. So we?re working on the best way to express these payments that are not included in any audited statement and give people a full and comprehensive picture.
Those payments added up to over 6-million dollars in the second half of 2002. Most of that was covered by the Diocesan Insurance Fund, another 2.2 million dollars came from savings.
The Diocesan budget was about 2-and-a-half million dollars this year. In an effort to cut half a million dollars of expenses, the Diocese cut 19 staff positions, closed the Bishop?s residence, and discontinue its newsletter.
McGee, who is also on NHPR?s Board of Directors, wouldn?t say exactly when the financial statement will be finally released. But he promises it will be complete and professionally audited.
McGEE :21 what we?re looking at is an audited statement and I think that?s what responsible organizations put out thru an independent auditor. We?re also trying to accommodate the significant payments that were made after conclusion of audit. To give most accurate picture of diocese as possible.
Concerned Catholics like Carolyn Disco are worried that all that effort to make the statement simple and easy-to-understand will make it useless. She says she?s tried to get clear answers from the Diocese in the past, long before the recent concerns about clergy sexual abuse.
DISCO :16 Bishop Christian came to our parish and I asked him at that time to release
diocesan financial statements, and it was as tho I had asked a most inopportune questions. The answer essentially was that I wouldn?t understand them.
So Disco says she has reason to be concerned about the delayed financial statement. She?ll be looking especially hard at what they think the audit might not cover ? Church assets, Catholic Charities, schools, and loans to staff.
Disco says she?ll round up a few qualified CPAs and check twice to make sure the public financial statement is an accurate reflection of the Diocese?s situation, instead of just a public relations document.
For NHPR News, I?m RMD.
