The Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville will freeze wages for about 3,000 employees to save money and try to minimize tuition increases at its schools, church officials announced yesterday."We're concerned about the general economic conditions," said Brian Reynolds, chancellor and chief administrator of the archdiocese. "Our hope is that this would slow down tuition increases."
The one-year wage freeze, which is scheduled to begin July 1 with the next fiscal year, will apply to all employees, including priests, teachers, clerical staff and others who work throughout the Roman Catholic archdiocese, which covers 24 counties and has about 200,000 members.
Reynolds estimated the freeze would save the archdiocese about $2 million.
Teachers in the system's 39 grade schools make up about half the affected employees. The freeze does not apply to the archdiocese's nine high schools, which set their own salaries and tuition, Reynolds said.
The freeze was announced in a memo sent yesterday to all 121 parishes and missions in the archdiocese, Reynolds said. He said Archbishop Joseph Kurtz also will address the matter in his column in this week's The Record, the archdiocesan newspaper.
The Rev. Dick Sullivan, pastor of St. Michael Church in Jeffersontown, said he believes most of his parish's 100 employees will understand.
"I don't anticipate anyone here will be too upset," he said. "But I'm sure it makes it hard for everybody because everybody's got bills."
The parish operates a school and preschool for about 500 students and has about 3,000 members, Sullivan said.
He said some parish members have also been struggling with job losses or cutbacks in wages.
"I hope we can weather the storm as everybody else does," he said.
Reynolds said the main purpose of the freeze is to try to help schools keep tuition affordable to assist families experiencing other cost increases and job losses or cutbacks in income.
"The economy impacts the families we serve," he said.
The wage freeze comes as the archdiocese is in the first year of an ambitious, three-year fundraising drive to raise $65 million for parishes, schools and various services.
Reynolds said the archdiocese plans to proceed with the campaign even though some parishioners have questioned whether it should, given the current economic conditions.
"Some people have asked if this is a good time to run the capital campaign," he said. "But when people are in need, perhaps there is a greater concern that the church respond."
Reynolds said proceeds from the campaign will be used to help struggling schools or parishes as well as to fund various missions and services the church offers. It also will help with the rising costs of educating priests.
Two years ago, the archdiocese was paying for four seminarians and now has 14 men enrolled in seminaries and more applications coming in, he said.
"Seminary education is very expensive," Reynolds said.
Kurtz, in a statement released yesterday, called on parishioners to remember the needs of the poor in this time of economic challenge.
"Christ calls us to care first for the most vulnerable members of society and to attend to both their physical and spiritual needs," it said.
The memo to parishes also raises some more practical concerns, asking them to look for cost savings including reducing overtime, eliminating vacant positions if possible and trying to be more efficient in purchasing.
Sullivan said St. Michael already is looking for ways to conserve.
"Our electric bill last month was $9,000," he said. "We're trying to turn lights off and make sure doors are closed. It's getting tough."
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(Source: CJC)