Thursday, 4:30 PM
Finances of Archdiocese of Boston slowly improving
By Michael Paulson, Globe Staff
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston announced today that in its last fiscal year it made slow but steady progress toward erasing the deficit in its operating budget, shoring up its pension plans, and improving its overall financial condition, which had been severely weakened by the clergy sexual abuse crisis.
The archdiocese said it cut the annual deficit in the budget for its central administration to $6.3 million in fiscal 2006, which ended June 30. That loss is down from $8.3 million in fiscal 2005; the archdiocese said it hopes to have a fully balanced budget by fiscal 2008.
The archdiocese said its total net assets, held by the central administration and the 295 surviving parishes, are $390 million, up from $330 million reported last year. The increase is due largely to $63 million in real estate sales.
"Much positive change occurred in the Archdiocese within the last year," Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley said in a statement. "While there are many challenges before us, we remain committed to rebuilding this Archdiocese and earning the respect and trust of those whom we serve."
The archdiocese's pension fund for its lay retirees is nearly fully funded, the archdiocese said, while archdiocesan officials are still debating how to strengthen a similar fund for clergy retirees. The clergy retirement fund has been enmeshed in controversy since the archdiocese proposed cutting benefits for retired priests - a proposal it has since withdrawn - and since the archdiocese said the fund was in trouble in part because no money was deposited into it for years - a statement the archdiocese now says was incorrect.
The archdiocese also released today an annual report about the costs of sexual abuse cases. The archdiocese said it spent $9.6 million in fiscal 2006 on abuse settlements, treatment for abuse victims, and other abuse related costs. In fiscal 2005, the archdiocese said it had spent $150.8 million on abuse settlements and related costs.
In a separate report, the archdiocese for the first time disclosed the salaries of its top employees. O'Malley, the archbishop of Boston, is paid $23,771, which, because of his vow of poverty, he gives to his religious order, the Capuchin Franciscan friars. The top three paid employees of the archdiocese are all laypeople, including Chancellor James P. McDonough, who earns $250,000 a year, Institutional Development Director Scot Landry, who also earns $250,000, and the archdiocesan communications director, Terrence C. Donilon, who earns $160,680. Many of the archdiocese's top jobs are held by priests and nuns who are paid less than $30,000 each.
The archdiocese said its top vendor last year was the law firm Ropes& Gray, to which it paid $1.4 million, largely for handling abuse cases, while its top contractor was TLT Construction Corp., to which it paid $5.5 million, mostly for parish repairs.
The archdiocesan financial disclosure is part of a pledge of transparency by O'Malley, who has been trying to rebuild public confidence in the church following the abuse crisis.
The archdiocese said it would post at some point today on its website, rcab.org, an annual report of the finances of its central office, annual financial statements from all of its related Catholic organizations, the annual report on all costs associated with clergy sexual abuse, and the lists of top salaried employees and top paid vendors and contractors. The archdiocese is also planning to publish much of the information in its newspaper, The Pilot, this week.
Michael Paulson can be reached at mpaulson@globe.com
