MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio
[with audio]
The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis released a trove of financial documents Thursday, detailing publicly for the first time church spending on everything from Catholic schools to clergy sexual abuse claims.
The archdiocese showed a $3.87 million operating loss in fiscal year 2013 compared to a $1.5 million operating surplus the year before. Officials attributed that loss to an increase in reserves the archdiocese might need to cover unknown future costs related to clergy abuse claims.
For years, archdiocese officials declined to release detailed financial statements, making it difficult to assess its finances. By releasing the documents, the archdiocese joins about two dozen other dioceses across the nation who have done so.
“This is frankly a good step,” said Chuck Zech, director of Villanova University’s Center for Church Management and Business Ethics. “It’s long overdue, but a good step overall.”
But although the statements did not show immediate financial problems for the archdiocese, Zech warned that church leaders face significant hurdles in coming years. Among them are costs related to lawsuits by people who alleged that priests sexually abused them.
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