Holy Finance: a Church’s Price Tag, Philadelphia Weekly, March 25, 2011

Holy Finance: a Church’s Price Tag

Philadelphia Weekly
March 25, 2011

http://blogs.philadelphiaweekly.com/phillynow/2011/03/25/holy-finance-a-churchs-price-tag/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=holy-finance-a-churchs-price-tag

These Lasalle High School students pass out meals for the homeless outside of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter & Paul.

For the first time since the recent Philadelphia grand jury report and removal of more than a dozen priests for sexual abuse allegations, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said Thursday that they will not “derail” their plans to renew their vows to out predator priests, a reform effort first adopted in 2002.

Tomorrow, a former member of a California Catholic diocese abuse review board will discuss, among other topics, the role of diocese lay review boards in the cover-up of child sexual abuse at the Parish House of Episcopal Christ Church and St. Michael’s at 4 p.m.

The event is sponsored by SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPNetwork.org) and Voice of the Faithful (VOTF). Some Church protesters claim they had recommended the removal of abusive priests to the Philadelphia Archdiocese, but Cardinal Rigali ignored their requests.

But in light of this discussion and recent protests, it’s important to consider a Church’s halo effect, being that Churches– contrary to what seems to be a popular myth– are simply not factories that churn out sick child-molesters.

A church’s halo effect is the economic worth of a church, something once considered too sacred to measure, says Ram Cnaan.

“If you ask yourself ‘What is the financial value of feeling good?’ it’s very hard to quantify because there is no understanding of what feeling good means and how to pay for it,” says Cnaan, a professor of social policy at the University of Pennsylvania. He formulated a calculation in a study to find congregations’ halo effects, including Catholic, Protestant and Jewish congregations.

The brightest halo: the Catholic Church. Visitation Blessed Virgin Mary in Kensington, alone, has a halo of $22,440,382.

“Everybody thinks of congregations as a place to worship and meet their spiritual needs and go home. Congregations have a much wider impact on the community,” Cnaan says.

The study considered a total of nearly five-dozen categories, from the money churches receive for performing funerals and weddings, to the salaries they pay their staff, to the social values and principles they promote and foster. Visitation includes 7,000 parishoners, a school, a community center. Church leaders help with community outreach, teach English to Kensington’s Asian and Latin communities and even helps people find eployment.

There is no doubt that the actions of some priests should not be condoned or covered up. Molestation by any individual, especially by someone who the community should expect to trust, like a priest, should not be disregarded or undermined. But the Church is not a hopeless waste of radically conservative Christians wanting to shove religion down people’s throats. They do a lot of good social work within communities, and the numbers prove it.