Free Snow Removal and Invisible Vigils

With all of the snow we have had here in Boston during the month of January, across the archdiocese hundreds of active parishes are facing much higher than expected bills for snow removal they must pay from their own bank accounts with parishioner donations.

At the same time, 5 closed parishes who exhausted all civil and canonical appeals as of July 2010 still get their snow removed for free.  Well, it is free to the people protesting the closure of the parish who claim to be occupying the churches in so-called “vigils.” These bills, and others to the tune of millions of dollars over recent years, are actually paid by the archdiocese.

How many pastors would not accept the archdiocese paying their January snow removal bills?

Until recently, a lot of people were under the mistaken impression that these “vigils” were staffed a sufficient number of hours day and night that breaking them up would  present some massive public relations problem so confrontational and embarrassing that the folks at 66 Brooks Drive needed to avoid the PR issue at all costs.  After all, “vigil” means some “purposeful or watchful staying awake during the usual hours of sleep.”

Not exactly true.  A recent visit by an alert reader to one “vigil” site at St. James the Great in Wellesley found the parking lot plowed, the doors locked, and absolutely no one there.

So, from the archdiocese that has brought us “Sham Searches”  and raised the sophistication level of their deception around these searches to nearly a science, we now have “Invisible Vigils.”

An “Invisible Vigil” is a “vigil” that is not really a vigil at all. It is a shell of whatever the initial protest may have been.  Today, an “Invisible Vigil” is infrequently staffed and may give some outward appearance of being backed by a number of parishioners, yet is not.  And yes folks, hundreds of thousands of dollars a year are being spent unnecessarily by the archdiocese in snow removal costs, insurance, utilities, and maintenance/repair to support these “Invisible Vigils” and maintain properties to residential standards which are much higher than would be required if the property were unoccupied.

Why?

Mismanagement.

Though each closed parish with so-called “vigils” is different, let us look at St. James in Wellesley as one example.  In October of 2004, parishioners began a “round the clock” vigil to protest the closure of the church.  In October of 2008, they told the Boston Globe that “At all times one of their members is in residence in the building, eating, working, and sleeping in a small office off the cavernous sanctuary.”  But even if that was really true in 2008–and we are not sure if it was the case then–by September 2010, the public comments had changed, when the Globe reported, “In Wellesley, there are sometimes blank spots in the vigil schedule; on a beautiful summer Saturday last month, the church was deserted most of the day.”

That is how alert reader, “Mike B” found St. James the Great in Wellesley over a recent weekend and described it to us in an email:

“BCI,

I was driving past St. James in Wellesley this weekend and stopped by to see what was going on.  I expected to find a few people inside church. I thought maybe there’d be some confrontation when I walked in if they thought I was one of the ‘heavies’ from the archdiocese trying to lock the place up on them. I thought maybe they’d be dialing-up reporters at the local cable news station and Boston Globe to come out and film the scene if people were prevented from entering the church like you guys suggested they should do. It was actually completely dead. Doors all locked. No one was there but the entrances were shoveled and parking lot was plowed with enough room for maybe about 25 cars. It was even plowed around the back where no one would be driving. Shoot, I’d like to have that kind of service at my home! Do they get free snow removal courtesy of the archdiocese?  Our parish is asking for special donations since it’s costing more than we budgeted already.  If my kids and I do a sleepover in the church on Saturday night, can we get the archdiocese to pay for snow plowing?…Here are some pics I snapped…”

In the style of Cardinal Sean’s blog we now offer you a photographic view of the grounds at the site of the “Invisible Vigil” at St. James the Great in Wellesley.

St. James the Great as seen from Route 9

Front entrance cleared of snow

Plowed area of main parking lot

Back entrance cleared of snow

Driveway behind church and rectory is well plowed and cleared. Why?

Path to nowhere. Parking area on east side of church cleared, but piles of snow prevent access to church from here and it's clear the other entrances are the only ones used. Why is this even plowed?

Special thanks to Mike B for passing on the information and photos.

As of 2008, the archdiocese said they had spent $2.2 million on utilities, insurance, and other costs at the five so-called “vigil” churches for the prior four years, or an average of more than $500K/year. We hear the cost may actually be closer to $800K/year now. Even the archdiocesan spokesman said in that 2008 article, “”These vigils have to end at some point. It’s an issue of fairness to the parishes that are open and struggling to serve people.”  So, why is it that the archdiocese does not just change the locks and padlock the doors of these facilities to end the vigils and stop spending quite so much money on maintenance that could be used elsewhere?

In the beginning, as we have shared previously, Cardinal Sean’s own instructions to the property management company were that if a building was found unoccupied it should be locked, and the locksmith called to change the locks.  Then Fr. Bryan Hehir and the PR wizards at Rasky Baerlein said no, that would be a breach of trust, so even those found empty were left alone.  That has gone on for more than six years.

BCI has located a locksmith willing to change the locks on parishes on very short notice. BCI and our supporters will foot the bill and we are glad to hand the keys for the new locks over to the archdiocese–provided the archdiocese simply makes clear that the vigil is over, takes steps to keep the doors locked, reduces the wasteful spending associated with keeping them open and applies those savings to the clergy or lay retirement funds.  If anyone at 66 Brooks Drive would like to take advantage of this offer, please drop us a line.

In November of 2004, Cardinal O’Malley said the following in a letter to the archdiocese:

Many parishes are unable to pay their bills. The pension plans for laity and clergy are in danger..I am appealing to all Catholics to be Catholics first. I know that we all have a great love for our parish and parish church, but our first love must be for Christ and the Body of Christ which is the Church…If difficult decisions are not made now, the mission of the Church will be seriously compromised in the future.

Your Eminence, it is more than six years later.  Many parishes are still unable to pay their bills, and the pension plans for laity and clergy are still in danger. You have allowed this to drag on for six years.  How much longer are you waiting in order to make this difficult decision?

Whistleblower Policy: Progress and Problems

As long-time readers know by now, one of the recurring themes on the blog has been that the archdiocese does not have a whistleblower policy and program in-place whereby anyone can report some sort of wrongdoing anonymously and have the concern investigated and acted upon without fear or risk of retaliation.  We raised this in detail in our posts Whistleblower Policy and Whistleblower Policy: Part 2 last September.  We are pleased to report there has been progress!  At the same time, there are still a few significant problems to be worked out.

Just to refresh your memory, archdiocesan auditors for years have been recommending such a policy.  Here is their recommendation:

“We recommend the implementation of an anonymous submission process where employee or donor concerns can be voiced directly to the [Finance Council/Archbishop/Board of Directors].”

The Finance Council has had oversight for this area in their charter since 2006 and nothing much happened until recent months.  Not long after BCI raised the issue of the whistleblower policy in our August 23 Open Letter to Cardinal Sean O’Malley and Archdiocesan Leaders, coincidentally, the Chancellor suddenly started moving the project along at a somewhat faster pace.  A Code of Conduct policy is making the rounds at vicariate meetings and is being discussed by the Presbyteral Council, and implementation using a third-party service, EthicsPoint, is well underway.  It is still under construction, but you can get a preview of what the EthicsPoint implementation looks like here.  In case for some reason the page is deactivated after this post goes live, click on the image below to enlarge a snapshot of the page.

Someone has drafted a nice opening message from Cardinal O’Malley that reads, in part:

The Archdiocese of Boston has a firm commitment to financial transparency and fiscal responsibility…We also have provided numerous policies, procedures and trainings to assist our clergy and parish staffs to be better financial stewards.

Another important way that we can remain good stewards of the financial resources entrusted to us is to provide a confidential method of reporting suspected ethics violations, financial improprieties or other such matters to an independent third party for evaluation. EthicsPoint will assist the Archdiocese by providing that support, allowing our employees to report their concerns in a confidential manner.

There are categories of misconduct and sub-categories, including:

• Financial, Auditing, Accounting and Stewardship Misconduct
• Abuse of or Fraud with Benefits
• Accounting, Auditing and Internal Financial Controls
• Donor Stewardship
• Embezzlement
• Falsification of Contracts, Reports or Records
• Theft (Larceny, Burglary, Robbery)
• Time Abuse
• Archdiocesan Employee Code of Conduct Violation or Misconduct
• Conflict of Interest
• Unsafe working conditions
• Office of Professional Standards and Oversight

The description for “Donor Stewardship” is interesting: “

Funds directed to the organization have not been handled with the utmost truthfulness or not used in accordance with the donor’s intentions and wishes. Failure to provide due care with respect to the donor, and/or donation. Injury to the public trust.

This is all a good start and the effort to agree on a Code of Conduct policy is also positive.  But no one seems to realize the fatal flaws with the current path.

1) History of weak leadership and no decisive action when problems are known

When problems are known by the Finance Council, Cardinal, Vicar General and/or Chancellor today, often years pass with no action.  Why was the $20 million debacle with St. Cecilia allowed to happen and why does it continue with weak oversight?  Why were so many excessive six-figure salaries approved by the Chancellor, Cardinal and Finance Council, and why is it taking so long to rectify that situation? Is this situation not sufficiently clear as an injury to donor trust already?  Who owns fixing that? Why have vigils that cost millions of dollars to the archdicoese not been shut down by now–especially since many are frequently unoccupied?  These are all multi-million problems that represent a breach of fiduciary responsibility to donors and that are already well-known and understood, yet no one is doing anything about them.  How will EthicsPoint change that?

2) Routing of claims to people responsible for the problems, or to no one?

The whistleblower policy reporting process right now says that claims can be submitted anonymously, which is good.  But read this draft of the Reporting Process to see where the claims are sent:

Whether made through the Archdiocesan website or via the dedicated toll-free telephone hotline, all reports submitted through the Archdiocesan Hotline will be given careful attention by the appropriate Archdiocesan Vicar or Director. All reports submitted will be supervised by the Audit Committee of the Archdiocese of Boston Finance Council. If a submitted report references the Vicar or Director who is responsible for investigating in the area of concern of your report then they will be omitted from the reporting process.

Anyone else wondering what really will happen to the reports if the Vicar or Director responsible for that area is the Vicar General or Chancellor?  We know those people will be omitted from the reporting process, but then what happens to the report so it is investigated and acted upon?  Does it go into the black hole that represents Cardinal O’Malley’s “in-box”?  We know reports go to the Audit Committee of the Finance Council, but these are people with full-time jobs who do not meet often and are not charged with investigating claims–just supervising the process.  Who will do the impartial investigating?  And what if it is not a claim of financial wrong-doing, but a claim of a different nature?

Back in September, an insider commented:

“In my opinion, who is to say that you submit the claim, and those in high leadership positions will not continue to squash the claim. The problem really relies on top leadership and how they continue to deal with complaints that have facts to support it. Let’s wake up for once and see what is really going on in the Archdiocese of Boston. Let’s pray together and hopefully the Cardinal can get the Archdiocese back on track. This will require his own separate investigation away from the fluff that he is surrounded by every day, and that reflects the Truth about what continues to go on in the Archdiocese of Boston.”

We have held out high hopes that this new Code of Conduct policy and whistleblower policy could bring stronger ethics and a sense of stewardship and fiduciary responsibility to the Boston Archdiocese for the greater good of the Catholic Church in Boston.  (Selfishly, we also hoped it would be an effective mechanism for people to report wrongdoing and get those ethical breaches acted upon, and therefore might reduce the need for this blog down the road).

While we do commend the Archdiocese of Boston for the tremendous progress made to date on the policy and infrastructure, we feel compelled to share that the current implementation falls short. It allows anonymous submission and protects against retaliation, but does not seem to have a vehicle that ensures all claims will be fully investigated, reported, and acted upon–with independent authority at the highest level above the Chancellor, Vicar General, Jack Connors and others to expunge wrong-doing and corruption.

If the breaches of fiduciary responsibility BCI has reported for the past seven months have not been addressed yet, what will change with the new Code of Conduct and Whistleblower policy?

Cold Weather, Property Mismanagement and Corruption

The extreme cold in Boston in recent days and situation of the$20 million debacle at St. Cecilia in Boston made BCI think about a few things relevant to all Catholics in Boston–especially pastors–as relates to property management or mismanagement, waste, and corruption. We also wonder how the archdiocese plans to deal with what is rumored to be about $500 million or more in deferred maintenance needs on 800-1000 buildings across the archdiocese.

Waste/Neglect in Heating and Utilities

As we look at our own heating oil bill and hear the old oil burner running nearly around the clock, it occurs to us that the archdiocese is not very proactive about helping parishes and schools make their heating operations more efficient.  Better said, the archdiocese is bordering on negligent in many cases. 

At one time, there used to be around 4 property management people working for the archdicoese–one for each region–who helped parishes and schools more effectively and efficiently manage property-related issues.  By and large, these were people who knew something about heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems (HVAC), maybe through service in the Navy or other branch of the military, or training in some type of engineering program or at the likes of a maritime academy. With some 800-1000 aging buildings, such a resource is almost a necessity. But under the current Chancellor, most of those people were pushed out–some upon reaching retirement age, some for other reasons–and never replaced. Today we have two people. And it is not clear if the current team is of the skillset and inclination to get their hands dirty and go into dark, dirty, boiler rooms to help diagnose and fix issues.

A mother was recently in the classroom of her child at a Boston archdiocesan Catholic school and noticed a window open near her child in the dead of winter. Why?  Turns out that the school cannot sufficiently regulate the heat in the entire school, so when the room gets too hot, the teacher opens a window.  How many other Catholic schools and parishes face this problem of heat pouring out windows due to older systems?  Anyone wondering why BCI keeps talking about wasteful spending?

A look at parish annual reports shows that  several spent in the range of about $67,000 on “heat and utilities” in their last fiscal year on $1.04-1.07M in total parish expenses, or about 6.7% of revenues.  What if that $67,000 could be reduced by just 5% in that parish?  What if that same savings could apply across 290 parishes?   Who is thinking about this besides BCI?

How do parishes and schools know whether a 60-80 year-old oil burner has become so inefficient that it would be a worthwhile investment to replace it with a high-efficiency oil burner or convert to gas heat?  How long would the payback time be for such a capital investment?

Does the Chancellor’s property management team understand the difference between inspecting a boiler for safety (done annually) vs inspecting/evaluating a boiler and heating system for energy efficiency?

Delayed Maintenance of Properties

Back in the parish reconfiguration efforts of 2004-2006, we are told that the topic came up at least a few times of how to deal with approximately $500 million in deferred maintenance needed for church buildings and schools that would remain open after reconfiguration.  At one time, there was even discussion of a fund being established to help handle emergency repairs for remaining facilities.  Was any of that deferred maintenance ever done or planned for? Was a proper department created and funded to proactively handle these issues?  Or has the deferred maintenance just been deferred further into the future, left for each parish to individually cope with when the roof starts leaking water into the sanctuary, someone falls on the crumbling concrete steps, or the boiler breaks down and breathes its last?

Corruption?

We are still wondering how prices in general for parish work get so high between when the project is first conceived and priced locally and when it comes back with a preferred vendor from the archdiocese. 

As we asked previously, why are only a small number of contractors allowed to bid on significant construction in parishes?  And why are parishes not allowed more freedom to determine which firms they wish to use if the firm is established, competent and reputable?  Why are some vendors “in the Rolodex” and other vendors and contractors with solid credentials and references kept “off the Rolodex”?

Did anyone ever ask a contractor to reward someone who awarded the contract, or expect such a reward? Has there ever been a time when the personal gain of anyone in the central administration was tied to who they approved to receive large contracts?  This is not just for construction, but also for other large ticket items like network installation in schools, and other such deals.

Did anyone in past years, or has anyone recently taken some percentage back on real estate deals?  How about on maintenance deals or construction projects? 

Who is auditing the St. Cecilia project?  Has no one–absolutely no one–benefited personally by the $20M in contracting costs? 

Have contractors ever been expected to do work for free (eg. at someone’s home) for anyone who works at 66 Brooks Drive as an incentive or reward for a significant contract for hire?

Just questions to ask and things to consider as we brave the cold weather and try to learn from the $20M debacle at St. Cecilia’s. 

Stay warm.

Evangelization Sunday

Cardinal Sean has designated today “Evangelization Sunday,” when Catholics throughout the archdiocese are hearing about the launch of the ”Catholics Come Home” program.  

The Boston Globe covered it in their article, “Archdiocese campaign targets once-faithful,” where they quoted Cardinal Sean saying, “Every Catholic can be a minister of welcome, reconciliation, and understanding to those who have stopped coming to Church.”

According to this article in The Pilot, “The first ever Evangelization Sunday will be celebrated in the archdiocese Jan. 23 as an effort to introduce churchgoers to Catholics Come Home, a nationwide program the archdiocese is launching over the coming months to bring lapsed Catholics back to Mass and the practice of the faith.”

Here is a video of Cardinal Sean’s homily, which he asked to have played in all parishes in the archdiocese today.

Here are some excerpts from The Pilot article:

Archdiocese of Boston Secretary for Faith Formation and Evangelization Janet Benestad said Evangelization Sunday is a chance for Cardinal O’Malley to “invite Catholics in the archdiocese to reflect on people they know who have fallen away from the Church and invite them back.”

Nationally, the Catholics Come Home program has been running in eight dioceses and resulted in an increase in weekly Mass attendance. The Diocese of Phoenix saw a 12 percent increase (about 92,000 people) as a result of the program, and in the same span, the area had a roughly zero population growth. The Diocese of Corpus Christi saw a nearly 18 percent increase.”

Catholic officials will be launching the Boston version in an archdiocese where weekly Mass attendance is at 17 percent. New England is the most unchurched region in the United States, according to a Gallup poll released in February 2010. The poll revealed that only 29 percent of Massachusetts residents attend a church or synagogue weekly.

Benestad did not give a quantifiable goal that the archdiocese would like to reach to label the initiative as a success.

“For us, a success would be that people return to our parishes,” she said. “In the Northeast, so many people are Catholic.” .

Though we wish the archdiocese would do a better job of practicing what they are supposed to be preaching and take more dramatic steps to model a Christ-like evangelical culture starting at 66 Brooks Drive, it is still very good to see that the archdiocese is taking at least some steps to promote evangelization and reverse the steady decline in Mass attendance.  We also think it is a good idea for faithful Catholics to always be inviting friends or family members back to the Catholic Church.

The initiative relies heavily on television and radio ads, which are not inexpensive, and apparently the initiative has only a few hundred thousand dollars to support those ads, which gets burned through very quickly in a major metropolitan area like Boston. The sooner they tackle the program we outlined to save $2 million annually by chopping back the excessive six-figure salaries and ending the so-called “vigils” at closed churches, the more funds they will available to fund evangelization and advancing the mission of the Catholic Church in Boston. (How is that new Compensation Committee doing anyway?)

All cynicism aside–if you can believe that is possible from BCI–bringing people back to the Catholic Church is about salvation of souls and helping people get to heaven.  So do not do it just because Cardinal Sean asks you to. Rather, if each person reading this blog invites just two people they know back to Church, you could be a catalyst for them to turn from darkness and come to see the light of Christ.  Who knows, maybe you will play a role in God’s plan for the salvation of their soul, and yours as well!

Fiscal Mismanagement: $20 Million Debacle Part 2

Our post from yesterday, “Fiscal Mismanagement: $20 Million Debacle” about the out-of-control renovation project at St. Cecilia’s in Boston has sparked a lot of emails and comments.  Do take a moment to read the comments, especially some heartfelt comments from several priests. We had a few weather-related issues today that kept us from blogging, and are just now getting to share Part 2.

Just to be sure everyone is on the same page, as we wrote yesterday, St. Cecilia in Boston had $14 million in the bank from a previous land sale, embarked on what was supposed to be a $13-14 million renovation project but never raised money for the project beforehand, and hit construction cost overruns that have put the total project costs at as much as $20 million by the time the project is finished (leaving them as much as $6 million in debt). They are just now launching a capital campaign to hopefully raise $2 million, while at the same time the parish is running a $250,000 operating deficit from 2009-2011 .  Oh, we forgot to mention, the project had oversight from the Office of the Chancellor in the Archdiocese of Boston and his staff experts, and the pastor of St. Cecilia, Fr. John Unni, is good friends with Chancellor, Jim McDonough.

If Ricky Ricardo of “I Love Lucy” were witnessing this, one can just imagine him saying in a loud angry voice, “Jim, you’ve got some ‘splainin’ to do!”

Lest all of the details about the debacle at St. Cecilia’s distract from the main issues, allow us for a moment to remind you of the key things that make this noteworthy–not just for this particular project, but also for any parish council member and pastor who has a project to undertake elsewhere in the archdiocese:

1. Cost: Why has the cost run over by as much as $2 million to $6 million?  How did the price for the project get so high?  Who provided oversight and who is accountable? What are the consequences for those who let this happen and approved it?
2. Decision to approve spending $20 million on this project: Why was this project deemed a good use of $20 million (besides the fact that the parish had $14 million in the bank from a recent land sale)? Demographically, is this a location with a strong Catholic population or the potential to attract a strong Catholic population?  What other alternatives are nearby to serve Catholics?  Was this church  ever on a list of possible parish closures, or should it have been? At a time when every dollar matters–and certainly every $1 million matters–why exactly was this project approved by the Chancellor and the Cardinal? Who approved it–the Chancellor?  The Finance Council?  The Cardinal?
3. Contractors and Vendors: Who were the contractors used? Who chose them? Are any of them friends of Jack or Jim? Why are only a tiny number of contractors allowed to bid on significant construction in parishes? And why are parishes not allowed more freedom in determining who they use if a firm they wish to use is established, competent and reputable?

The project was originally described in May of 2009 as follows: Phase 1: Rebuild the Rectory, to code; Phase 2: Renovation of Lower Church; and Phase 3: Improvements to Upper Church (not to exceed $800,000). In 2009, the costs were estimated by the Renovation Committee for all 3 phases at $13 million. A figure of $10 million was published in the Boston Courant when they went out to get appropriate city and neighborhood approvals.

Here is what the church and adjacent parish hall looked like before the project (note: the rectory being renovated is actually in the left tower, as evidenced by the windows, which are unusual for a church tower):

The adjacent parish hall on the right side of the church, built in 1917, was in poor interior condition yet was generating $80,000 annually in rent to local organizations.  It was demolished to allow for a handicapped-accessible entrance, and that source of rental income is now gone.  Here is an artist’s rendition of what it is to look like.

Fast forward to fall of 2010.  Even though the archdiocese has provided oversight for dozens upon dozens of school and parish renovation projects (including everything from building demolitions to pointing of bricks to church renovations and restorations), and even though they should know how to get 3 independent bids for every major job, and even though there should be skilled people who know very well by now what kinds of surprises to anticipate in construction projects and how to plan for overages, and even though there are skilled people who know you raise money if needed before such a project, not afterwards, this project proceeded–and ran over, by A LOT.

Here is the detailed assessment of the cost overruns shared in the parish council minutes of September 2010:

“As has been the case during the whole project, there have been unforeseen conditions to be dealt with:  the tower was in much worse condition than originally anticipated, and the rectory basement fix, city code, issues, etc.”

How were the contractors chosen, and by whom? Surely a capable contractor with appropriate oversight from the Archdiocese, including the experts on the Chancellor’s director-level staff (who now are paid in sum total about $1.3 million) should have anticipated city code issues.  Did the long-standing Boston city codes abruptly change mid-stream in the project or something? What controls were written into the agreement to protect and limit the church’s exposure to cost overruns? And when a project runs over by millions of dollars, are people not entitled to a somewhat more detailed listing of reasons than whatever is meant by “issues, etc.”?

We are told, but have not confirmed, that once the restoration of the church ran over budget, they removed the new HVAC system to save costs.  Then other “unforeseen” issues arose, like the pointing turned out to be more extensive than originally thought.

Despite a staff including the Chancellor and his directors now costing $1.3 million, plus their direct reports who are supposed to be able to provide oversight for such projects, here we sit nearly 5 years after the Chancellor arrived with aging buildings across the archdiocese and no credible, active building or property management commission (e.g. one with priests/pastors and non-pastors,  lay experts in heating/ventilation/air-conditioning systems, and staff with specialization in buildings and parish finance) overseeing such initiatives from initial proposals to completion. The person responsible for real estate on the Chancellor’s staff was a former loan officer with him at the Abington Savings Bank and objectively knows nothing about property management. Several of the staff skilled in building/facilities management were laid off in recent years (as part of the Chancellor’s supposed magnanimous efforts to cut heads in his department to free budget for more six-figure salaries) and never replaced.

Coincidentally, someone recently emailed us these pictures of what the new entrance looks like now from the front and rear.

(Anyone else wondering what they will do with all that valuable open space behind the entrance that was generating $80K/year in rent before?)

We are told the project is about 75% completed and running around $16-$17 million.  When Phase 3 is finished we hear it could cost $20 million, but we have not confirmed that number. (If we are mistaken, we encourage someone from St. Cecelia’s to contact us and we will correct the numbers).  The parish started out with $14 million in the bank, and could be in debt as much as $6 million when finished.

This is WITH oversight by the Chancellor’s office.

The whole thing reeks of mismanagement and corruption from end to end.  Whoever is responsible for this fiasco needs to be held accountable for this.

As you can see from the comments, priests and laity are disgusted when they hear news like this.  Here is what one pastor wrote:

The donors are not putting money in the collection baskets to assist the fat cats of Brooks Drive.As a pastor, I am at wits end to keep my parish in the black, I am very much doubting that I will be a pastor next year as the stress and demands which this administration has placed upon the position is really not worth the time and energy I am putting into it. I fear that slowly the Cardinal and his staff are eroding my love and dedication to the priesthood in Boston as a parish priest. I love the Eucharist and celebrating the Sacraments, but am sick and tired of all the red tape now placed upon the position. Sadly, I am getting to the point of just wanting out of it all.

Cardinal O’Malley, Fr. Erikson, and Jim McDonough–are you all happy that this is what you are bringing about in the Boston presbyterate?

If this is not heart-breaking enough, the corruption and mismanagement remain in contracting. At least when Gov. Deval Patrick saw the corruption in the state Parole Board, he fired the whole board.  But here in the Boston Archdiocese, the leadership carries on with business as usual as though everything is going just fine at 66 Brooks Drive. Ongoing mismanagement in contracting is the topic for yet another post shortly.

Anyone reading this is still planning a donation to the Catholic Appeal?  If so, allow us to offer a few words of advice.  Ready for this?  Grab a pen and a piece of paper.  Here is the advice:

Do not give to the Catholic Appeal at this time.  Redirect whatever you may have considered giving for now to your local parish or another good Catholic cause like any of these. We do not have a perfect answer for how you can earmark a contribution to your local parish and ensure it is not “taxed” by the archdiocese this year, but talk to your pastor.  Ask him if you can earmark the donation and have it used to pay a specific bill, like the heating/utility bill, or a youth group expense, or musician stipends.  Giving to a “Grand Annual” parish collection might also shelter the money from the voracious spending appetites at 66 Brooks Drive.

ps. By the way, if any pastors are reading this, drop us a line at bostoncatholicinsider(at)gmail.com or fill out our Contact Us form (anonymously if you like) and let us know if you have had limitations placed on you by the archdiocese in hiring your choice of contractors. How often has a particular contractor been forced on you (eg. Parent, McLaughlin & Nagle for audits, Nolan Waterproofing, others) by the archdiocese?

Fiscal Mismanagement: $20 Million Debacle?

Q. How does a parish go from having $14 million in the bank to being millions of dollars in debt within 12 months?

A. With the oversight of the Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Boston.

According to the 12/24/2010 edition of The Pilot,

“St. Cecilia Church in the Back Bay reopened Dec. 12 after recently completing a major interior renovation. The church closed after Easter for a major overhaul that included new flooring, pews, painting and a redesigned sanctuary and entrance… The renovation continues with restoration of the attached rectory and redesign of the lower church into a parish center complex.”

What The Pilot did not report was the following:

• The parish had $14 million in the bank from a previous land sale (11,000 square-foot adjacent parcel) before starting the renovation project
• The pastor and parish council discussed raising money via a capital campaign in 2009 for what was then estimated at a $13 million project, but never did anything at the time
• They hit construction cost overruns that have put the total project costs at the 75% completion point today at around $16-17 million, and it could hit $20 million by the time they are done
• The parish is only now launching a capital campaign to hopefully raise $2 million
• The parish is now borrowing money from the archdiocese to cover the cost overruns
• The parish is running a $250,000 operating deficit from 2009-2011 ($120,000 in the red in 2009-2010 and $130,000 in the red for 2010-2011)
• The project had oversight from the Office of the Chancellor in the Archdiocese of Boston and his staff “experts” in real estate and property management
• The pastor, Fr. John Unni, is good friends with Chancellor Jim McDonough

The above are the objective facts. A parish goes from $14M in the bank to being as much as $6M in debt.  That is WITH the oversight of the Chancellor and his team (who collectively at the director-level or above are paid $1.3 million annually). The whole thing reminds BCI of the Beatles song, “With a Little Help From My Friends”

The project was originally described in May of 2009 as follows:

Phase 1: Rebuild the Rectory, to code; Rebuild roof; Perform necessary construction to make entire building envelope safe and secure (including, upgrade of all plumbing, energy and mechanical systems.).

Phase 2: Renovation of Lower Church.

Phase 3: Improvements to Upper Church (not to exceed $800,000).

It is estimated by the Renovation Committee that the cost of completing Phases 1 – 3 would be $13 million.

 For the record, in the Boston Courant, a Back Bay newspaper, the project was estimated at $10 million in late 2009.

Here is a comment from a reader on this same topic from January 1:

from the pews says:

January 1, 2011 at 11:23 pm

One must conclude there has been precious little oversight from the Archdiocese regarding the renovation at St. Cecilia Parish (Boston). With a pastor who openly proclaims he’s not a “rules and regs kind of guy” and who plays fast and loose with the Sacramental Rites of the Church as well as with Church doctrine, it is of no surprise there exists the inexplicable situation in which fund raising has been long delayed hoping to recoup millions in cost overruns. Where is there ANY oversight?

Meanwhile, St. Cecilia’s annual operating budget is reported to be over $250K in the RED at the end of FYE 2011! This is as reported on their very own website: http://www.stceciliaboston.org/bulletins/bulletin10312010.pdf

Yet the pastor takes frequent and extravagant vacations to tropical Islands and Europe.

I for one, am sick of average parishioners bearing the financial burdens of born of impropriety and ineptitude. We who sit in the pews are more than happy to give our hard earned money and precious time to further the wonderful ministries of the Church. However, it appears that no one at the Archdiocese asked simple questions in a timely fashion—questions rooted in everyday common sense: Why was no money raised before the project began? Why is the project now suddenly millions of dollars over budget?

No one is made accountable, yet it is the faithful parishioners who are saddled with millions in debt.

With the history of sex abuse scandals, the Church does not need to shoot itself in the foot with more financial impropriety and incompetence. It pains those of us who try to stay faithful to the Church and faithful to our local parishes, where our faith truly takes root.

NOTE: We acknowledge that the renovated upper church looks beautiful, at least from what we can see of the photos, we acknowledge the interior of the church hall was in bad condition, and we acknowledge the rectory in the left tower was also in bad condition. This post is not about whether there were physical needs at the church that merited work.  This post is highlighting that the project has been mismanaged and improperly overseen from start to finish.

The current Chancellor has been in his job nearly 5 years.  Does he have a team of skilled experts capable of providing oversight and guidance for projects like this, and able to support the facility needs of hundreds of aging buildings in need of HVAC system upgrades, maintenance and renovation? Or is neglect of this area and layoffs of skilled staff without adequate replacements costing the archdiocese and parishes tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars a year needlessly, or even up to millions?

We will have more details to share about the project tomorrow, including before and after photos, reported reasons for the cost overruns, and what could have been done to prevent them. Readers familiar with the project can feel free to post comments or send email to us using the Contact Us tab.

In the meantime, the underlying question remains: When will pastors and advisors all start telling Cardinal O’Malley the time has come to replace the current Chancellor and initiate a search for a new one using someone independent and objective who cares just about the mission of the Catholic Church in Boston?

New Vicar General? New Chancellor?

In follow-up of our most recent post, Musings on the Future of the Archdicoese of Boston: Episcopal Leadership, while we are on the topic of leadership, we thought we would take the discussion a step further today.

First, if you have not yet read the episcopal leadership post, that would be a good foundation before reading this post.

As mentioned previously, rumors have been making the rounds for a while that the Vicar General plans to go back to full-time service in the Air Force this spring.  And if the current Chancellor does not continue on after his 5-year term expires expires in June, that key position will also be filled with someone new. The combination of two open positions in such key roles presents an opportunity to either fix some significant problems and “right the ship” by filling the positions with outstanding Catholic leaders well-suited to these roles, or to send the proverbial archdiocesan cruise ship at an even faster speed ahead into an iceberg quicker than you can say the word, “Titanic.”

There is much to say about the topic of how to fill these key roles and how to fix the current dysfunctional management.  Apparently unique in large archdioceses as best as we can tell, Cardinal O’Malley allowed what has been in Boston a combined Chancellor/CFO role (most are separate roles) to also maneuver a reporting relationship direct to the Cardinal and become more like a COO or CEO.  That, combined with a Vicar General today whose expertise is in grief counseling and who is better suited to pastoral ministry than strong-willed leadership amidst the Boston political hornets-net, leaves us with a leadership vacuum where the Vicar General who should be the #2 in command is largely a figurehead–or even worse, at times more like puppet manipulated by other power-hungry cabinet members and advisors.

How should the Cardinal go about fixing the broken and dysfunctional organizational structure he has allowed to exist in Boston that plays to his own weaknesses and is contributing to our current problems and trajectory?   We offer brief thoughts on both the structural issues and the key issue of how to conduct the searches.

Organizational Structure Issues

This merits a post or two alone, so this is just dipping a toe in the water.  As one example, should the Chancellor be a priest or a lay-person?  In the Code of Canon Law, here is the high-level overview of the job:

Can. 482 §1. In every curia a chancellor is to be appointed whose principal function, unless particular law establishes otherwise, is to take care that acts of the curia are gathered, arranged, and safeguarded in the archive of the curia.

The Chancellor role is often filled by a priest or religious with knowledge and expertise in both Canon Law and in organizational management.  But it is also often filled by a layperson.  Should the position of “Chancellor” be combined with the equivalent of a “Chief Financial Officer” role as has been the case here in Boston, with broad responsibilities over budget, financial reporting, cash management, investments, risk management, MIS, benefits, human resources, cemeteries, real estate and facilities?  Or should they be separate roles, as is the organizational model in other large archdioceses (e.g. New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Detroit) where there is a Chancellor with organizational management responsibilities reporting to the Vicar General, and often a separate CFO or Director of Finance who also reports to the Vicar General?  This is just food for thought.

But, before anyone even attempts to tackle those questions, we think the question of how to conduct a search needs to be asked.

How to Conduct a Search

BCI has covered, perhaps ad nauseum, the “sham searches” that have become literally an art and science here in the Boston archdiocese–starting with the Secretary for Communications, through the Chancellor, Superintendent of Schools, Cardinal’s office manager, and the new Secretary for Institutional Advancement–the “mother of all sham searches.”  There are even more, but we will leave it with these for now.

Can Boston construct a truly competent search committee for any key job, free of blatant conflicts of interest? Sufficient concerns about the current Chancellor lead us to offer guidance towards what we believe should be an open, independent search for a successor to him. Assuming such a search is undertaken, who should lead it?  Is there anyone within the Archdiocese who can articulate what the Chancellor’s job really is, and also guide the search?  Are the halls, offices, and cubicles of 66 Brooks Drive devoid of good minds with clear thought and a moral compass?  Who might have a reputation for independence and integrity?  Who has not been called-out for deception, excessive compensation, or conflicts of interest on this blog?  BCI challenges Cardinal O’Malley to think of just one person who is wise and above reproach.  We invite the Cardinal to think of one person who could direct a conversation and search process to yield a truly independent chancellor…one who seeks only the long-term best interest of the Catholic Church in Boston–and no other individual or institution.  Who can help put Boston on the straight and narrow path canonically, ethically and legally, and keep us there?

Besides the possible search for a new chancellor, what will the profile of the next Vicar General look like? Will the Cardinal appoint a strong Vicar General with backbone, like Bishop Lennon, who would simply not tolerate the nonsense, corruption, political scheming and breaches of fiduciary responsibility that have transpired under the reign of certain people in the Chancellor’s Suite on the 4th floor, as well as those who advise and influence them? Given that neither the Cardinal nor the current Vicar General had any experience as a pastor or had substantial training or experience in financial or business management, will previous experience as a pastor or experience in a significant leadership/management role be important to look for in a new Vicar General?

Those expert in studying and understanding traits of outstanding leaders say the common attributes include Integrity, Dedication, Magnanimity, Humility, Openness, and Creativity.  How will Cardinal O’Malley find these attributes in the right combination–and others such as skill in dealing with confrontation and conflict to make up for his weaknesses–for what could be the two most critical roles he fills in the next few months?  Getting the right person(s) on the ship–and the wrong people off the ship–could make a huge difference in the next stage of the voyage and the future of the Archdiocese of Boston.

The Archdiocese of Boston is in desperate need of strong leadership. Priests and laity of this archdiocese need the Cardinal to aim for a better fit with Boston’s current requirements  in filling these crucial roles than the individuals we have today in those positions.  We pray that when the Cardinal enlists assistance in the search(es), he turns to someone to lead either or both searches who is smart, a clear thinker, is known for integrity, is free from conflicts of interest, is faithful to the teachings of the Church, and who seeks only the long-term best interest of the Catholic Church in Boston.

This is the time to think “outside the box.”  Can Cardinal O’Malley do this?  Will he at long last right the ship with at least the filling of these key leadership roles, or will we keep heading towards an iceberg with more of the same for the next five years?

Musings on the Future of the Archdiocese of Boston: Episcopal Leadership

Events of the past week or so and emails received from a number of people have led Boston Catholic Insider to reflect on the future of the Archdiocese of Boston. We think this post could be one of the more controversial ones of our blogging tenure, but also a very important one that had to be written.

The appointment of a Boston priest to be Vicar General in another diocese brought to mind that the current Vicar General in Boston will likely be moving along soon, and will be replaced by someone new. That presents opportunity.  If the 5-year term of the current Chancellor which expires in a few months is not renewed or if he should decide to leave on his own, that key position will also be filled with someone new. That too presents opportunity. Even with a cabinet leadership team and archdiocese split by differing ideologies, the tragic death of the person who was leading the “Catholics Come Home” initiative reminds us of how people from differing ideologies can still come together on occasion.

We are an archdiocese where only about 12-15% of Catholics go to Mass weekly.  The number of priests over the past several decades has declined dramatically along with that decline in Mass-going Catholics. We are an archdiocese where 40% of parishes are operating in the red, and the clergy and lay pension funds are under-funded by hundreds of millions of dollars–yet millions of dollars are wasted annually from central administration.  Morale in the presbyterate and amongst Pastoral Center employees is generally not all that upbeat, Catholic hospitals have just been sold off, Catholic schools are closing, and the Catholic identity of those schools that remain open is eroding. We are an archdiocese that is divided. In the interest of transparency and exposing the truth to faithful Catholics, this blog has reported on deception, corruption, wasteful spending, and breaches of fiduciary responsibility that objectively do not belong in the Catholic Church.

In view of these crisis-level challenges, it is the opinion of this writer that to face and overcome these challenges and become a stronger Church in Boston (free from the divisiveness we experience today), we need a few things.  First and foremost is prayer, and for each person a personal relationship with Christ.  Second, is a commitment to the truth. And third is strong leadership.  This last area is our focus today.

In terms of overall archdiocesan leadership, perhaps a new vicar general and/or chancellor will help, and we plan to share thoughts on what is needed today for these positions as well as how an effective search might be conducted. But before going there for these two roles, after prayerful consideration we felt that we would be remiss to not share something that discusses the sort of leadership we feel is needed by the Archbishop of Boston going forward.

What you are about to read was shared with us last year that was written by somebody else, not BCI.  It is an excerpt from a longer document, “Crisis and Reform in Boston,” apparently written between the time when Cardinal Bernard Law resigned (December 2002) and when Bishop Sean O’Malley was appointed Archbishop of Boston (July 2003).  We do not know who wrote it or who has seen it.

Nonetheless, much of what was described in the document written about seven years ago still seems like it applies today.  It describes in some ways the author’s view of the ideal Archbishop of Boston to address the crisis in Boston.  We were especially struck by the passage about the archbishop needing to “be the pastor of the pastors”  and by the very last sentence.  Though it could be argued that no one person necessarily possesses this entire combination of characteristics, nonetheless, we still invite Cardinal O’Malley and his trusted advisors to reflect on this:

To Teach, To Sanctify, To Govern

To respond to these problems in Boston, the next Archbishop must be a man:

+who grasps that this crisis is about faith in and fidelity to the Lord Jesus Christ. True reform is impossible without a direct challenge to the various false religions now in competition with revealed Truth. The next Archbishop must take nothing for granted and be prepared to engage in the New Evangelization almost as a First Evangelization, beginning with his presbyterate. To do this will require both clear and persuasive preaching of the truth and effective and direct refutation of error.

+whose life is blameless. If there are any scandals or habitual sins in his life, the…priests whom he must discipline will find them and use them in the media to destroy him.

+who is not afraid to be hated. Responding to the crisis in Boston will require the effective use of sanctions and discipline, and this will make the next Archbishop a man reviled by some.

+who is not afraid of controversy. There is no way to reform the Church in Boston without public controversy, some of which will be bitter and vitriolic. A man who runs from conflict cannot reform this Church. The Boston Globe will doubtless continue its campaign against Catholicism in various ways, and the next Archbishop must be prepared to be a stumbling block, not a media darling. And the internal opposition from Boston College will be even more crippling to any effort for reform.

+who is a radically obedient disciple of Jesus Christ. An Archbishop who is more conscious of the power and prerogatives of his office than of the dignity of his Baptism will make himself an object of public ridicule. He must be prepared to live a simple, evangelical life and to speak always in clear, evangelical language. The legalistic evasiveness and psychological jargon so common in the public utterances of many bishops can have no further place in Boston.

+who is a priest in every part of his being. An Archbishop who prays and celebrates the Holy Eucharist in a way that draws others into the heart of the Paschal Mystery will lead lasting reform by priestly example. A man without great integrity of life and faith, of personality and action, will not be able to sustain the sacrifices that must be made for genuine reform.

+who is an evangelist. Boston does not need a manager, a financier, or a consultant for an Archbishop; Boston needs a prophetic preacher of the Gospel who can convince other people of the truth of God’s Word because he both knows and believes it himself.

+who is not captive to Irish clericalism. Any priest who is bound to the “tribe” of Boston’s Irish clergy will be absolutely incapable of reforming the presbyterate.

+who is willing to make the Church smaller in order to make it larger. The cancer of dissent has created an (until now) invisible schism which has already made the Church in Boston much smaller than it appears to be. The next Archbishop must be prepared to acknowledge this fact (with canonical sanctions when necessary) and then preach the Catholic faith in its fullness and integrity. For this to happen some institutions may have to be abandoned, and some persons will have to be shown the consequences of their ideas, but absent such honesty, there will be no reform in Boston.

+who understands the essential and intrinsic connections among doctrinal clarity, moral probity, and ecclesial order. The disintegration of ecclesial life now unfolding in Boston is the result of the effective sundering of these three legs of one stool by the guild of dissent among priests, lay catechists, and theologians. Restoring the integrity of ecclesial life, therefore, will require the next Archbishop to restore in public and effective ways the connections among faith, life, and order, and such restoration will be impossible without directly dismantling the guild of dissent.

+who can be the pastor of the pastors. The Archbishop cannot be the pastor of every parish in Boston; he must be the pastor of the pastors, and he must make his highest priority the pastoral care of his priests and the recruiting and training of future priests. To reform the presbyterate, he must be personally involved on a daily basis in teaching his priests…in exhorting them, encouraging them, correcting them, and when necessary reproving them. He must also be directly and personally involved in selecting and forming seminarians for priestly ordination. While he will, of course, need help in such work, these tasks simply cannot be delegated to anyone else.

+who has a clear and authentically Catholic vision of the sacramental economy as a coherent whole and as the essential means for unveiling the eternal Plan of Salvation for God’s people. The liturgical, doctrinal, and disciplinary fragmentation and incoherence of the past thirty years have obscured from sight the intrinsic order and beauty of the sacramental economy and made much more difficult the task of teaching revealed truth. The next Archbishop should be a priest capable of elucidating for his priests and people the internal logic, immeasurable beauty, and divine wisdom of the Logos tou Theou.

Reasons to Hope

The Faithful

The lay faithful of Christ in Boston continue by the hundreds of thousands to “believe and profess all that the holy Catholic Church believes, teaches, and proclaims to be revealed by God”. These people deserve a shepherd willing to make personal sacrifices for the Gospel, and they will respond with heroic generosity and courage to his stewardship if he proves himself to be a fearless preacher and a genuine priest.

Young Priests

Despite the chaos in the Church and in large measure because of the witness of Pope John Paul II, many of the men ordained in the past 5 years are obedient disciples of the Lord Jesus and faithful priests of the Church. These young men will have to assume the burdens of leadership at an early age, and if they perceive in their next Archbishop a true father in God and witness to Christ, they will move heaven and earth to help him reform the Archdiocese of Boston.

Wavering Priests

Notwithstanding the decades of dissent, unchastity, and mendacity, many priests of Boston still hear the voice of God in their conscience and are yearning (even if unconsciously) for a prophet to come and lead them out of slavery to sin. A bold man of  God in the Chair of the Archbishop could ignite a divine spark in the hearts of those priests and bring them through conversion back to the grace of their ordination. The witness of such men would be a powerful force for reform.

Kairos

A providential opportunity is at hand in Boston—a rare moment of grace when dissent, confusion, degeneracy, and chaos can be challenged and overcome by the Word of God. For this opportunity to be seized, though, the Church in Boston needs a bishop who is not bound by clerical custom, tribal instinct, or personal fear. Given the causes of the crisis in Boston, business as usual will lead to disastrous consequences. The next Archbishop of Boston can and should be a bold disciple of the Lord Jesus who can bear powerful witness to the Resurrection of Christ and the truth of the Catholic faith; he must be a confident and persuasive teacher of the Gospel and a skillful shepherd of souls. Such a man in Boston, precisely because of the acute crisis and the public attention focused there, could help lead a true and lasting reform of the entire Church in the United States.

The next Archbishop of Boston should not be a “safe” candidate selected by the usual means from among the conventional candidates. Such men are largely responsible for the sorry state of the Church today; one more of that sort will not lead us out of crisis into reform. Boston needs an Archbishop who will teach, sanctify, and govern his people and priests with the courage, conviction, and confidence that come from personal conversion to Jesus Christ and a life-changing decision to follow Him in the Way of the Cross. For true reform to take place, the next Archbishop of Boston cannot be a chancery bureaucrat, an office manager, or a dialogue facilitator who understands his task as the mediation of internal disputes between “liberal” and “conservative” Catholics; he must be a passionately effective evangelist because he is first a thoroughly converted disciple of Jesus Christ.

Boston Globe Gets it Wrong…Again

NOTE: The blog post originally published at 9:30am has been updated as of 12pm today.

We will have more for you on the new Catholic Schools policy in a separate post.  But in case you saw the headline in today’s Boston Globe about the appointment of Fr. Christopher Coyne to an episcopal position in Indianapolis, we wanted to let you know the Globe got the news wrong, yet again.  That is, they got it wrong until BCI corrected them.

First, let it be said that the blog thinks Fr. Chris Coyne is a fine priest, and we congratulate him on his appointment as auxiliary bishop of Indianapolis. He will also be Vicar General, which is effectively the #2 leadership/administrative position–at least it is in basically every other diocese in the country (except Boston today).  That he was appointed to be auxiliary bishop of Indianapolis seems rather clear from the Vatican announcement and the article in The Pilot, whose headline reads, Pope names Father Christopher Coyne auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.”  It also is extremely clear from this article published yesterday afternoon in the Indianapolis Star whose headline reads, Indianapolis archbishop introduces new second-in-command and says,

“Coyne’s main mission will simply be to help Indianapolis Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein carry out his duties. He will carry the load of the sacramental duties — like priest ordinations and confirmations — the archbishop typically performs in the large archdiocese that covers 14,000 square miles in 39 counties. Coyne also assumes the role of vicar general, which essentially is the No. 2 administrative post.  Buechlein, who turns 73 in April, has been on a reduced schedule since 2008, when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease, a cancer of the lymph nodes. That cancer is now in remission, church spokesman Greg Otolski said Thursday.

Today’s appointment came with no guarantee that Coyne could become archbishop of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis…Buechlein said he asked the pope for a co-adjutor, or assistant, but he chose to designate an auxiliary bishop.”

Yet despite that clarity, the headline of today’s Boston Globe article in the print edition reads, “Coyne to lead Indianapolis Archdiocese.”  It read the same way online as of 9:30am when we put out our post criticizing their mistake.  Keep reading to see the before and after.

That is simply inaccurate.  The photo caption says, “The Rev. Christopher J. Coyne listened yesterday as Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein of Indianapolis announced his retirement.”  That is wrong–Archbishop Buechlein did not announce his retirement at all.  The title tag on the page (in the blue bar at the very top of the browser) says, “Spokesman for Cardinal Law to lead Indianapolis Catholics.”  That is wrong too.

Note the Indy Star headline for comparison:

Might auxiliary bishop-designate Coyne be well-positioned to become the bishop of Indianapolis in the future when the current archbishop of Indianapolis retires?  Sure.  But that is not assured, and he was simply appointed auxiliary bishop at this time.  Often times, the people who write the articles (e.g. Lisa Wangsness at the Globe, in this case) are not the same people who write the headlines, so we do not fault the reporter.  But we felt we should let you know about the error, because if we or our readers tell the Globe about the error, they are not likely to listen to us.

12pm UPDATE: Well, the Globe did listen to us in this case!  The headline of the article and photo caption are now changed as you can see below.

This shows that at least in this case, when the Globe sees something is objectively wrong, they are able to report the truth.

This brings us to three other related points.

First about the Boston Globe.  For some reason, the Globe seems to be totally ignoring the Boston Catholic Insider blog these past few months (except this morning!) and the breaches of fiscal responsibility and corruption we keep reporting on. In previous years and in other metropolitan areas, if there were serious allegations of corruption or breaches of fiscal responsibility like this, it would merit an investigation and probably be headline news, like the cronyism and misconduct in the Massachusetts Probation Department have been here lately.  Not the case with the corruption in the Archdiocese of Boston.  Seems as though the Globe must get exclusive rights or first access to the pablum handed out by Terry Donilon and Jack Connors–about the Catholic schools (fund-raising, increasing appeal to non-Catholics, the new Catholic Schools non-discrimination policy) or the personal good works of the Cardinal (e.g. visit to Pine Street Inn, visit to a prison), or the “dialogue” with the vigil parishes–and in exchange, the Globe simply will keep their heads in the sand and not write about the fiscal mismanagement, breaches of fiduciary responsibility, conflicts of interest, and other corruption that squander millions of dollars in donor contributions and could result in government sanctions some day.  If it makes Terry, Jack or the current leadership of the archdiocese look bad, the Globe is simply not likely to report on it today.

Secondly, this news about Fr. Chris Coyne being appointed auxiliary bishop/Vicar General/#2 in Indianapolis should cause everyone to ask about what is happening with the leadership in Boston.  Vicar General Fr. Richard Erikson is rumored to be heading back to full-time duty with the Air Force within a few months.  What attributes should the Cardinal look for in his next Vicar General?  What is happening with the future of the Chancellor? That will be the topic for a different post.

Thirdly, it is noteworthy that when the Archbishop of Indianapolis felt that he could not lead effectively, he asked the pope for help.  And the pope responded.  Food for thought..

We will have more about the Catholic Schools policy in our next post.

In the meantime, we extend our heartiest congratulations to Fr. Chris Coyne on his elevation to auxiliary bishop.  Here is a 2-minute video clip of the introduction of Fr. Coyne in Indianapolis we thought you would find of interest. The loss for Boston is a gain for Indianapolis.  We hear he has been an outstanding pastor at St. Margaret Mary in Westwood and we wish him well in his new assignment.

Assessment of Catholic Schools Admission Policy: Part 1

In response to emails asking when we will weigh-in on the new Catholic Schools admission policy, we have been collecting our thoughts and are going to do so in two parts.

Warning #1: if you approve of the policy itself or the manner in which this policy has come about, you will probably not like either Part 1 or Part 2 of our assessment, so you might want to just skip this post. Warning #2: if you want to see BCI go into the doctrinal issues or whether there should or should not be such a policy, you will also be disappointed. There are plenty of other blogs already going there.  Frankly, we are so troubled by the deception that underlies the policy, the process behind its creation, and the fast-tracking of this initiative while other archdiocesan priorities languish unattended, that it will take us two posts just to cover that.

We already pointed out some of the deceptive aspects of the draft policy in our November 10, 2010 post, Diocesan Deception in Catholic Schools Admission Policy? If you did not read that post, do check it out.  We were hoping maybe the archdiocese would fix the problems with deception once we published them, but instead, they have gotten even worse since then. If a policy or initiative like this clearly relies on deception out the gate, then one cannot help but question the whole thing.

We expressed our initial reaction to the policy in an email that we sent Thursday morning to Cardinal O’Malley, members of the Presbyteral Council, and Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States.  This was in response to an email we received from a BCI reader. We checked our regular email and spam filter a few times Thursday looking for the response, and for some reason, whatever substantive response we are sure they have written did not make it to us yet.  Must be an Internet delay due to the residual effects of the Boston snowstorm. Below is the main substance of our email, with a few edits and additions.

Cardinal O’Malley, Presbyteral Council, and Archbishop Sambi,

As you know, the Boston Catholic Insider blog exists to promote integrity, good governance, and transparency.  When the archdiocese starts operating that way, the purpose for the blog and content for the blog will simply go away.

Can someone explain to Catholics why they should accept this policy when it opens with a deception?  Why does the policy open by saying, “In creating the Catholic Schools Admission Policy, we are guided by the words of the Holy Father,” when the words used were actually expressed by the Holy Father in the context of his request that ON A FINANCIAL BASIS, all children would have access to Catholic education?  How can you expect anyone to trust this archdiocese when the opening line of the policy is deceptive and misleading?  Did anyone actually ask the Holy Father and the Vatican for their guidance on this specific issue? See here for more details, where we give you the exact quote by the Holy Father:

“This sacrifice continues today. It is an outstanding apostolate of hope, seeking to address the material, intellectual and spiritual needs of over three million children and students. It also provides a highly commendable opportunity for the entire Catholic community to contribute generously to the financial needs of our institutions. Their long-term sustainability must be assured. Indeed, everything possible must be done, in cooperation with the wider community, to ensure that they are accessible to people of all social and economic strata. No child should be denied his or her right to an education in faith, which in turn nurtures the soul of a nation.”

How is the principle of subsidiarity maintained when the policy says pastors, principals, advisory and/or governing boards may develop specific admission policies for their school, but only provided they conform with the Archdiocesan policy? Are pastors not trusted to create their own policies to suit their local needs, as subsidiarity would actually call for?  Why is the spin explaining the policy in the Globe and The Pilot different than the actual wording in the policy? If the spin in the newspapers was really intended to be a part of the policy, why is the wording not in the policy? This is deceptive and disingenuous.

 

How can Mary Grassa O’Neill feel OK making the disingenuous statement, “We sought a process that would allow us to reach consensus on a policy” when she knows such a process was not attained, nor was consensus on a policy?  Sources familiar with the process say no consensus was reached, and that a great deal of input received from people who felt strongly about their positions was ignored.  Making this statement when in fact no such process was used or consensus reached is misleading and deceptive.  It is like saying, “We hoped to operate with integrity” when in fact they did not.  How much of the input from clergy and laity that you received in the “consultation” process was summarily ignored?  Why not at least try to be even a little more honest and say, “Initially we thought it might be nice to  have a process that would let us reach consensus, but could not in the end come up with such a process or reach consensus.”

 

Why was the policy announced to the Boston Globe before being announced to Catholic faithful via The Pilot and other archdiocesan communications? Was the intent of the policy to please the Globe rather than to preserve and enhance Catholic education for Catholics?

 

Why was this rushed through in about six months, when you are letting efforts to cut $2 million in wasteful spending of donor funds languish with no attention, setting the Church up for more layoffs of dedicated employees, cutting of important ministries–again–as well as possible state or federal sanctions? Why has this policy gotten significantly more attention by the Cardinal, his cabinet, the Presbyteral Council, and Archdiocesan Pastoral Council than cutting $1M+ in excessive six-figure salaries that could otherwise be used to fund the lay pension or clergy retirement funds?   The archdiocese continues to breach its fiduciary responsibility to faithful Catholics with no public statements or actions to address this grave problem.  Is appeasing Jack Connors a higher priority for the Cardinal and archdiocesan leadership team than sound governance of the archdiocese, prudent use of donor funds, and satisfying legal commitments to the pension and retirement funds?

 

Why did work on this schools admission policy evidently take higher priority for the Cardinal, Vicar General, and archdiocesan leadership than fulfilling their fiduciary responsibility to fund the estimated $200M+ shortfall in the lay pension and clergy retirement funds, which represent ethical and legal commitments to thousands of lay employees and priests?  Aside from the once/year priest appreciation dinner to raise $1M for the clergy funds, what is being done to raise $100-200M or more to fully fund the plan?  What is Fr. Bryan Hehir doing from his tony residence in Wellesley, 4th floor office in the Pastoral Center, office in Harvard yard, and with his six-figure salary and guaranteed cushy Harvard pension to solve this problem?  What is Jack Connors doing about the underfunding in pension and retirement funds?  Who decided, and why was it decided that this policy was a higher priority for the time and energies of our archdiocesan leadership, at the expense of time spent working on the retirement security of thousands of priests and lay employees? 

 

 Why did work on this schools admission policy apparently take priority for the Cardinal, Vicar General, and archdiocesan leadership rather than ending vigils at 5 closed parishes and saving $850,000 per year in wasted money?  The final canonical appeals for the vigil parishes were denied on July 15, 2010, nearly six months ago. As we wrote about in our last post, the vigils at these closed parishes are costing the archdiocese and donors approximately $850,000/year.   When will the archdiocese take the decisive action to end the protest vigils at these 5 parishes that have been going on for the past 6 years?  On what exact date will the archdiocese block access to the buildings, with no people allowed to enter those closed churches so as to end the vigils?

 

Why did the archdiocesan leadership have time to work on this policy, but no time to publish the budget of how you are spending $15M+ in donations by the people and another $16M+ in fees from parishes and other Corporation Sole entities? As part of the archdiocesan-touted Improved Financial Relationship Model, a 2010 Central Ministries budget was published, but we are now more than half-way through the 2010-2011 fiscal year, and no budget for the current fiscal year has been published. When will the 2010-2011 budget be published publicly?

 

In 2005, the Cardinal said that a policy to deal with banning Catholic speakers who publicly dissented from Church teaching from archdiocesan events should be developed, shortly after Fr. Bryan Hehir created a public scandal for his plans to honor Mayor Tom Menino at a Catholic Charities fundraiser.  More than five years have passed since then, but no policy is done yet.  Why has the policy to ensure that Catholics who publicly dissent from the faith not lead Catholic faithful astray by speaking at archdiocesan events been slow-tracked since 2005, yet this policy was fast-tracked?

 

Why was this policy a higher priority for the Cardinal, the Vicar General, and the archdiocesan leadership team, than writing letters to dozens or hundreds of pastors in the archdiocese who are still waiting to receive an official reappointment to their pastoral assignment.  When will the Cardinal and Vicar General stop treating pastors like itinerants or employees at will and leaving them hanging in limbo, and issue a letter that canonically renews their term?

 

Why was this policy a high priority for the Cardinal, the Vicar General, and the archdiocesan leadership team, when Cardinal O’Malley does not take time to respond to confidential letters he receives from priests and laity?  Will he ever take the time to respond to letters?

 

Why was this policy a higher priority for the Cardinal, the Vicar General, and the archdiocesan leadership team than communicating the goals for the Catholic Appeal, which needs to raise at least $15M to keep the lights on in the Pastoral Center and fund critical ministries.  When will those goals be shared–before or after the Appeal year ends in two weeks?

 

Why was this policy a higher priority for the Cardinal, the Vicar General, and the archdiocesan leadership team than implementing the anonymous whistleblower policy, recommended 4-5 years ago by archdiocesan auditors to help save money and avoid corruption. Why has the whistleblower policy languished for 4-5 years?  Why does the whistleblower policy finally now being implemented send claims of questionable behavior or ethical breaches right back to the same person, Chancellor Jim McDonough, under whom many of the infractions may have occurred?  Why has more time been spent on this Catholic Schools policy than has been spent on protecting the integrity of fiscal operations?

 

Why has this particular schools policy been fast-tracked with a lot of attention in the press, Presbyteral Coucil and Archdiocesan Pastoral Council, when teaching, sanctifying, and governance for the archdiocese is being so clearly neglected by the Archbishop of Boston?

 

That is what we have to say for Part 1, but there is more coming in Part 2.  Comments are welcome, but please do us a favor and do not comment on the doctrinal issues concerning the policy, as we will be moderating such comments.  There are other forums already deep into the debate over whether children of gay parents should or should not be admitted to Catholic schools.

 

ps. You may have heard that the director of the Catholics Come Home initiative, David Thorp, died on Sunday.  The wake will be held at St Edward the Confessor Church, 133 Spring Street (Rt 27) in Medfield from 3–8 pm on Friday, January 14. The funeral Mass will be held at St Edward’s on Saturday, January 15 at 11:00 am. The obituary can be found here.  We pray for the repose of his soul and that he rest in peace.