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	Dioceses Annual Financial Data Grim School Boards Briefed on Numbers in Audited Report, to Be Published in Thursday's the Catholic Light. By Mark Guydish Times-Leader February 15, 2010 http://www.timesleader.com/news/Diocese_rsquo_s_annual_financial_data_grim_02-15-2010.html SCRANTON (PA) -- The Diocese of Scranton will publish the full annual audited financial report in the Feb. 18 edition of its newspaper, The Catholic Light, but snippets of data released last week suggest it was another bleak year of deficits, despite rigorous attempts to stem the red ink. Diocese officials met with members of the four regional school boards that run the Catholic schools in 11 counties to discuss how the financial situation may impact Catholic education, and issued a press release following that meeting. Numbers were grim. Liabilities exceed assets by $29.8 million. The diocese has $15.2 million in non-performing loans, most of which are school related. There is another $6 million in non-school-related delinquent parish assessments, and the school assessment levied on all parishes is projected to fall short by $1.9 million this school year. The schools themselves have an operating loss of $5.6 million during the last two years. There's no way to compare until full data is released, but it sounds like the continuation of a financial struggle repeatedly laid out in prior financial statements around this time each year. In the January 2009 Catholic Light, Bishop Joseph Martino announced a deficit of a bit more than $7.1 million for the 2007-08 fiscal year. The diocese saw a $4.8 million drop in investments thanks to the market downturn that year, and a $1.2 million "extraordinary pension cost due to benefit adjustment in the priest's plan." In the February 2008 Catholic Light, Martino reported a $3.7 million "provision for bad debts" in the 2006-07 fiscal year, and $7.4 million in "additional unfunded cost" for pension and benefits for clergy and lay employees. Martino made sweeping and deep changes in the diocese in an effort to put it on sound financial footing, including closing numerous schools and an ongoing closure of many churches. He cut the Catholic Light from bi-weekly to once every three weeks and froze administrative salaries. More recently, the diocese weeded the list of those who get the Catholic Light via mail for free, launched an effort and Web site to get more support for schools from alumni, and began a new marketing program including a new Web site to increase interest in the Fatima Center at the former St. Pius X Seminary set on 350 bucolic acres in Dalton. The center is available for conferences and retreats. Last week's press release noted the diocese is now "offering sponsorships to support the broadcast of the daily Mass and other programming on Catholic Television." The diocese also announced a cut in the amount parishes are expected to pay toward Catholic schools. When Martino restructured the diocese school system in 2007, he set a two-tier assessment system on all churches in an attempt to broaden the burden, which previously had been carried primarily by churches affiliated with schools. The system assessed 10 percent of parish income up to $150,000, and 25 percent for those exceeding that amount. Many parishes have struggled to meet those assessments, so the diocese is cutting the total assessment in the 2010-11 school year from $14.4 million to $10.9 million, and the diocese has advised the regional school boards that they will have to make adjustments accordingly, including possible changes in tuition and fundraising. The news comes amid the wait for a new bishop, a process that is traditionally kept under wraps until the pope makes the announcement. Martino retired Aug. 31 and Cardinal Justin Rigali, head of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, has been serving as apostolic minister while the Church goes through the selection process. Because of his prominence in the Church hierarchy, Rigali may play a significant part in the selection. His opinion holds weight as the apostolic administrator, as "Metropolitan," or highest ranking bishop in the state, and as a member of the Congregation for Bishops in Rome, which can have a say in which candidates are recommended to the pope. Ultimately, though, the decision is entirely up Pope Benedict XVI. Diocesan spokesman Bill Genello has said he could provide no update on the status of the selection process. When Martino resigned, Rigali predicted it could take at least six months, and said that would be quick by traditional standards. Contact: mguydish@timesleader.com
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