BishopAccountability.org
	Tax Exemptions Face Challenge By Bill Zajac Republican [Massachusetts] August 14, 2005 Local assessors may join counterparts from the eastern part of the state in levying taxes on unused Catholic Church-owned properties, saying they no longer qualify for tax-exempt status because they aren't being used for worship or religious instruction. The move represents just one of two financial challenges the church faces. The Legislature on Wednesday began considering a bill that would remove existing religious exemptions in the state laws governing charities and require all churches to file annual financial reports and a list of real estate holdings as about 300,000 other charities are required to do. John M. Bowen of Longmeadow, who heads the East Longmeadow affiliate of the Voice of the Faithful, testified before the Judiciary Committee Wednesday that the Catholic Church needs state oversight because it continues to operate in secrecy despite its claims of transparency. Bowen told the panel about the diocese's lack of accountability regarding the whereabouts of the Most Rev. Thomas L. Dupre, who fled the diocese amid accusations of sexual abuse and who was later indicted on rape charges by a grand jury. His whereabouts remain a mystery 18 months after his overnight departure. Opposition is led by groups concerned with state oversight, burdening small congregations with expensive accounting procedures and violating religious freedom. Opposing groups include the Massachusetts Catholic Conference, the Catholic Action League and the Massachusetts Council of Churches, which represents 1,700 Orthodox and Protestant churches. Religious freedom is the primary reason it is opposed by the Council of Churches, according to its program associate Laura E. Everett. Edward F. Saunders Jr., executive director of the Massachusetts Catholic Conference, believes oversight by the state would make the church vulnerable to second guessing on any perceived misapplication of funds by the attorney general. "It raises constitutional questions regarding the separation of church and state," Saunders said. Mark E. Dupont, spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, said the diocese stands by the written statement provided to the Judiciary Committee by the Massachusetts Catholic Conference. Dupont, in a statement, called the legislation "well intended but, as the attorney general's office has already stated, most likely in conflict with constitutional protections guarding against undo intrusions by the government into the affairs of religious groups." Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly also has expressed concerns about the state being too involved in the finances of religious organizations. "It should be noted," the diocesan statement read, "that the diocese has made a practice of regularly reporting on its financial status - the most recent was published in the Easter edition of The Catholic Observer (distributed to all Catholic parishes) and we encourage our parishes to do likewise." State Sen. Brian P. Lees, R-East Longmeadow, the Senate minority leader, expressed surprise that no church officials, including those from the archdiocese, were present at Wednesday's hearing. "This supposedly was an important issue to the archdiocese. Why weren't they there at a public hearing expressing concerns?" said Lees, who supports the measure, proposed by state Sen. Marian Walsh, D-West Roxbury. "Why would an organization that collects money from people not want to inform the people they collect money from what they are doing with it," Lees said. "I'm baffled as to why any organization would not want this," he said. Gov. W. Mitt Romney has not stated a position on the legislation. The legislation marks another shift in attitude toward the Catholic Church, which had been historically insulated from scrutiny by powerful members of Legislature, according to some, including Boston College university historian Thomas H. O'Connor "Historians tend to look at change, particularly with institutions like the church, as occurring slowly. But with what has happened here with the church, it is both the speed and the depth of change in attitudes that is startling," O'Connor said. He said a number of pressure points within the church had been building for the decades since Vatican II, but it was the clergy abuse scandal of the past few years "that lit the fuse." One of the pressure points is a better-educated laity that resents being spoken down to, O'Connor said. Bowen agrees, saying, "This legislation is one way of sending the church the message that it cannot continue with medieval despotism in the 21st century. We are no longer uneducated peasants although we are treated that way by the hierarchy." O'Connor also said it is surprising that the discontent within the church has come from such a broad population within the church. "It isn't just a small group of young radicals. It seems to cut a broad swath, touching people of all ages," O'Connor said. Walsh filed the legislation after her constituents expressed their frustration with the Archdiocese of Boston for its failure to provide an explanation for closing their churches, which were not on the archdiocese's list of slated closings. Meanwhile, the Vatican ruled the Archdiocese of Boston was wrong in claiming financial assets of closing parishes, the archdiocese announced last week. Per order of the Vatican, the archdiocese asked pastors to work with parish finance councils in returning millions of dollars and real estate holdings in some of the closed parishes. Meanwhile, when Danvers recently sent the archdiocese a tax bill for $13,450 for the recently closed St. Alphonsus Church, saying it was no longer a house of worship, it got the attention of assessors from around the state, including some in Western Massachusetts. Richard J. Allen, chairman of the board of assessors in Springfield, said the city will look at several church-owned properties that could possibly be taxed. "If a religious organization, regardless of the denomination, owns but doesn't occupy property, use it for worship or religious instruction, then we would review the facts and assess a tax if it was warranted," Allen said. Allen said it isn't a new situation in the city. He cited the example of the Solid Rock Community Church being taxed for four contiguous parcels of vacant property on Central Street. This fiscal year, the city assessed the church a tax of $1,137. Allen said the city will be looking at properties of closed parishes, including St. Joseph on East Columbus Avenue and two parishes that merged into one in Indian Orchard. "Assessors have a statutory obligation to assess taxes on all properties unless the property specifically has an exemption," Allen said. Allen said he would begin a dialogue with church officials if questions arose about the exemption status of church properties. Jo Ann Greenleaf, director of assessing for Montague, said that if two churches in the village of Turners Falls are merged with a Greenfield church as recommended by the parishes, the Board of Assessors will look into unused church-owned property that may have lost its exemption. "At this point, it is premature," she said. The diocese has previously paid real estate taxes on properties, usually when residential property is donated to a parish or the diocese. "When property is deemed surplus with no future use determined, every effort is made to sell that property. The sale of St. Matthew's School in Indian Orchard is the most recent example," the statement read. The city of Springfield is buying St. Matthew's School, which the diocese closed in June. The city will use it to house Springfield Academy, an alternative school. "In some cases parishes decide to hold on to property and may rent out space, many times to academic, community or other non-profit organizations. In many of these instances, this allows the parish to have continued access to the property for limited purposes like religious education classes," the statement read. Since Danvers sent a tax bill to the archdiocese for the unused vacant church, the town of Scituate notified the archdiocese that it will be soon getting a tax bill for a vacant church.