Boston Archdiocese is making progress in turning around a financial crisis caused by clergy abuse payouts but its priest pension fund will run out in two years without major changes. The archdiocese, for the fourth year in a row offering the public a detailed look at the finances of the region's largest religious institution, has released the annual financial reports for the central administration and, in aggregate, the 292 parishes, as well as for more than 60 other Catholic organizations, including schools, hospitals, cemeteries and social service agencies, overseen by Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, Boston.com reports.
For the first time, the archdiocese also is releasing individual financial reports for 102 parishes; a significant step toward fulfilling O'Malley's delayed goal of reporting every parish's finances publicly each year.
Archdiocesan officials said they were heartened that contributions to parishes rose 4 percent in fiscal 2008, and the archdiocesan annual fundraising campaign slightly surpassed its $15 million goal. And they said that indications are that contributions are holding steady this year, despite the recession.
"The continued generosity of the parishioners in the Archdiocese of Boston, despite very challenging times, is inspirational,'' said the Rev. Richard M. Erikson, the archdiocesan vicar general.
And Erikson credited the archdiocese's financial officials with transforming "a diocese that was in economic freefall" to one that he described as now "in the midst of a major turnaround financially, and in many other ways.''
The archdiocese is hoping to balance its budget by fiscal 2010, which begins this July 1.
The deficit in fiscal 2008 for its central administration was $4 million, which the archdiocese said was a decrease from about a $15 million annual deficit when O'Malley first arrived in Boston.
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Source (CTHN)
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