By
THE MOST REVEREND WILLIAM E. LORI, S.T.D., BISHOP OF BRIDGEPORT
Fairfield
County Catholic, November 4, 2006
Last spring, I
appointed a Task Force to study ways to bolster parish finances. It
was comprised of three priests from the College of Consultors (Msgr.
Thomas J. Driscoll, V.G.; Msgr. Laurence R. Bronkiewicz; and Father
Walter C. Orlowski), and three lay members of the Diocesan Finance
Council (Philip Ameen, Ralph Bosch, and Joe Roxe). This
group worked closely with the Chief Financial Officer of our diocese,
Norm Walker, to develop key elements for assisting the dedicated pastors
of the 87 parishes of our diocese to fulfill their responsibility to
oversee the financial administration of their parishes.
I am very grateful
to the Task Force for its hard work and its important recommendations.
These key elements
were discussed in a meeting with the priests of the diocese at the Catholic
Center on October 30. They were presented by the priest-members
of the Task Force, and a question-and-answer period followed. I appreciated
the positive spirit of that meeting and the constructive suggestions
offered by the priests on implementing the key elements. I also wish
to express publicly my trust and confidence in our pastors and parochial
vicars as they go about their dedicated ministry, day after day.
In the coming weeks,
these key elements will be discussed in meetings to be held throughout
the five vicariates, or regions, of the diocese. These meetings will
include pastors, members of parish finance councils, and representatives
from parish councils. The purpose of these gatherings will be to explain
the initiatives proposed by the Task Force and to seek input so that
they will be developed to reflect more clearly the mission and activities
of parishes and be implemented in a timely and collaborative manner.
As we prepare for
those meetings, I thought it would be helpful for me to share these
key elements with you, the readers of Fairfield County Catholic.
Among the elements for enhancing parish financial controls are the following:
- Refine and update
the Parish Accounting and Procedures Manual (2002) to
make it more user-friendly and to reflect best practices, including
the necessity for effective parish finance councils and for parishes
to establish guidelines for appropriate levels of expenditures.
- Design and deliver
training as appropriate for pastors, parish finance council
members, business managers, accountants, bookkeepers, and count teams
for the Sunday collection.
- Provide guidance
to parishes for improved controls over collections that will
give parishioners more confidence that the Church is fulfilling its
fiduciary responsibilities for their contributions; that is, that
all contributions are safely deposited in the parish bank account
and are properly reported in the parish financial statements (These
basic principles for parish collections control already have been
developed by the Task Force and implemented at some parishes).
- Design new parish
financial reports and the underlying general ledger chart of accounts
to provide more useful reports and monitoring at various levels; that
is, to provide accurate and helpful information to pastors, parish
finance councils, parishioners, and the diocese.
- When parishioners
have concerns regarding parish financial activities, they are
encouraged to communicate directly with their pastors. The diocese
will publish a procedure for parishioners to communicate any unresolved
concerns they have to the Diocesan Finance Services Office.
- A review and
tests of parish financial controls and accounting procedures will
be performed for most parishes annually, either by independent certified
public accounting firms or by Diocesan Parish Finance Services, depending
on the size of the parish. At the conclusion of the review or at a
meeting of the parish corporation, the results of the review and related
communications for improvements in the parish’s financial controls
and accounting procedures will be discussed by representatives of
the independent certified public accounting firms or the Diocesan
Parish Finance Services Offices (as applicable), with the pastor,
parish finance council, and lay parish trustees, together with representatives
of the Bishop’s Office and Diocesan Finance Services.
The diocese will
also provide assistance to pastors by continuing to assist in personnel
matters, helping them strengthen their parish staff by pooling resources,
and in sharing best practices.
As you can see,
these are the elements that will serve as a foundation for a program
to assist pastors and their parish communities to continually improve
parish finances – to have an accurate understanding of parish finances
and how resources are in fact used and accounted for. These key elements
are based not only on the recommendations of the Deloitte Financial
Services report issued after last summer’s review of Saint John Parish
in Darien, but also on best practices already in effect in various parishes
in the diocese.
The work done thus
far and the vicariate meetings soon to be held aim to enable clergy
and laity to work together in a constructive spirit for the good of
parishes and the entire diocese.
As the result of
input received from the priests’ meeting and the upcoming vicariate
meetings, these key elements will be further developed and refined.
At the same time, a number of independent certified public accounting
firms will be engaged to conduct reviews of parish finances (with some
already under way).
Beginning in January
2007, these reviews will commence in parishes not currently being reviewed.
By the end of February, parish financial reports and related revisions
to the chart of accounts will be completed, and by the end of March
the refined and updated Parish Accounting and Procedures Manual
is to be completed. From April to June, we plan to design and deliver
training for pastors, parish finance council members, business managers,
accounts, bookkeepers, and count teams.
This challenging
time line reflects the determination of the all concerned to move ahead
swiftly, efficiently, and thoroughly.
I have tapped Deacon
William Koniers to lead this important effort. Ordained two years
ago and serving at Saint Catherine of Siena Parish in Trumbull, Deacon
Koniers has made a leap of faith in departing from the corporate world
to devote his talents and energies full time to the Church. As you read
his interview, I hope you will have the same sense that the members
of the Task Force and I share, that he is the right person for this
important responsibility.
Finally, some further
thanks are in order. In addition to the Task Force, I owe a debt of
gratitude to the entire College of Consultors and Diocesan Finance Council
with whom I meet frequently and on whose advice I rely. I also want
to thank Norm Walker, chief financial officer, Nancy Matthews,
chancellor, Father Dariusz Zielonka, vice-chancellor and my priest-secretary,
and Msgr. J. Peter Cullen, vicar general and moderator of the
curia, who also devote untold hours of labor and expertise to the administration
of the diocese.
Above all, I want
to thank you, the parishioners, for your love for the Church and her
mission. In and through God’s grace, may these combined efforts help
us fulfill the mission Christ has entrusted to us.
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