NEW YORK (NY)
Reuters
January 9, 2019
By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
Assets managed by U.S. Catholic foundations have more than doubled over the last three years, propelled by increased donations and stable market performance, according to a study by wealth advisory firm Wilmington Trust.
The study showed U.S. Catholic foundations, set up by archdioceses and dioceses across the country, managed $9.5 billion as of the end of 2018, up 106 percent from $4.6 billion in 2016 when Wilmington Trust released its first report on the sector.
The Catholic Church has come under intense scrutiny following settlements on sexual abuse scandals that have plagued it for years. Due to the enormous costs of settling sexual abuse claims, many dioceses have been in dire financial straits resulting in 19 Catholic Church bankruptcies in the last 14 years, according to watchdog group bishopsaccountability.org.
However, Catholic foundations are flourishing as they sought to separate themselves from the shadow of the embattled churches that created them.
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