O'Flaherty plans to move church finance bill to House
Decision draws praise, suspicion
State Representative Eugene L. O'Flaherty, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said yesterday that he planned to send the House a bill today that would force the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston to disclose its finances, a significant advance that won high praise from its sponsors but also raised suspicions over his motives.
House leaders could offer no assurances last night that the full House would take up the bill before lawmakers finish their formal sessions Nov. 16.
Last month, O'Flaherty, a Chelsea Democrat, came under fire from the bill's advocates for not moving the financial disclosure legislation out of the Judiciary Committee. The Catholic Church and other religious groups strongly oppose the bill.
But yesterday, O'Flaherty disputed contentions by the bill's advocates that he opposed the measure and that he has been bottling it up in his committee.
He said he has never expressed an opinion about the bill and is ''perplexed" by the assertions. He said he worked late Tuesday night, reviewing the issues involved, and concluded that he would support the bill.
''I don't have any issue with its intent," said O'Flaherty, adding that he would oppose any attempts on the House floor to attach amendments to water down the bill.
But the fact that he plans to move the legislation to the House floor instead of the Senate created a firestorm of concern among its advocates, suspicious that O'Flaherty is still trying to block it. The move would mean that the chief sponsor of the bill, Senator Marian Walsh, would not handle the bill immediately.
Walsh, a West Roxbury Democrat, said she was ''very, very grateful" for O'Flaherty's action, and said it would be a ''very important step." She alleged, however, that the decision to send it to the House instead of the Senate is a ''glaring irregularity."
''That is very unusual and I have to ask why," said Walsh. ''Not to give it to the leading sponsor really makes you pause. There are a thousand ways to kill a bill."
Walsh said she will still try to attach her bill to an economic stimulus measure that the Senate will probably approve today.
Secretary of State William F. Galvin, another sponsor of the bill, also expressed concern over the anticipated parliamentary move. ''It is unusual for a bill to go to the opposite branch from its sponsor," he said. ''It seems to be an effort to keep the bill out of Senator Walsh's hands."
O'Flaherty, who polled the House members on the committee, strongly dismissed any suggestion of parliamentary hijinks. ''There is no effort by me other than to release this bill with a favorable report," he said late yesterday.
He noted that almost every House member had been reached and all had favored the bill.
The legislation would require all religious organizations to file annual financial reports and a list of real estate holdings with the attorney general's charities division. It is opposed by both the Catholic Church and major mainline Protestant denominations, but the battle over the bill is seen by many as a test of how much clout the archdiocese retains with the state's political establishment.
Because of the abuse scandals and financial problems that have rocked the archdiocese, the fight over the bill has exploded into a bitter battle that is splitting the Greater Boston Catholic community.
More than 300 people attended a hearing in August at the State House, with a large majority testifying in favor of Walsh's bill.
Terrence C. Donilon, communications director for the archdiocese, said the bill, if passed, is expected to cost the church more than $3 million, a financial burden that would force further cutbacks.
''We're not in a financial position to absorb three or four million dollars," Donilon said. ''They are punishing the Catholics and the parishes. You have to ask where that money is going to come from.
''We recognize that these are very tough times for the church," he continued. ''These have been difficult years, but there are good people trying to repair the church. The question is, are some people out there willing to let us off the mat?"
At a meeting several weeks ago at the State House, Beacon Hill lobbyists for the archdiocese asked Walsh, Galvin, and other sponsors to hold off on the measure, saying the Catholic Church had developed a plan to make the disclosures voluntarily.
The church and other denominations say Walsh's bill represents a serious government encroachment on religion.
Both Walsh and Galvin said the archdiocese, which released its disclosure plan Oct. 21, has failed to offer enough specifics to allow them to understand how transparent it would be.
The bill's advocates say O'Malley, or a future archbishop, could set aside the voluntary plan, but a statute would be permanent. They also pointed out that the voluntary plan does not cover the other three archdioceses in Massachusetts -- Worcester, Springfield, and Fall River -- where similar financial problems and irregularities have surfaced. They say the bill is also aimed at forcing other denominations to open their books.
Fearing the Judiciary Committee would block the bill, Walsh, Galvin, and former lieutenant governor Thomas P. O'Neill III took their concerns last month to House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi.
O'Neill said this week that he understands the reluctance by Catholic legislators to pass a bill so strongly opposed by the church. ''There are heart palpitations among Catholics in our Legislature over this," O'Neill said. ''It is quite right that it would happen. I understand the culture they come from." 