MINNESOTA
Canonical Consultation
11/13/2014
Jennifer Haselberger
Since Saturday’s announcement that the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis needs to cut 20%, or nearly $5 million, from its operating budget, I have been quoted by various media outlets as stating that the Archdiocese’s financial troubles are not just the result of legal costs resulting from the Doe 1 litigation, but can also be seen as the logical result of years of mismanagement and poor decision making. While I don’t think anyone has publicly challenged the truth of that assertion, I do want to take the opportunity to point out what I consider to be five examples of poor decision making that have negatively impacted the Archdiocese’s bottom line. The cumulative effect of these decisions, as you will see, have cost the Archdiocese in excess of $5 million.
Decision #1- Gift of land to Hill Murray
Prior to 2005, the Archdiocese had a 41% interest in land on which Hill Murray High School sits (the Sisters of Saint Benedict, Saint Paul Monastery, owned the other 59%). The assessment of the property at that time placed its value at over $12,000,000. As part of a restructuring of the governance of the school, the Monastery sold its portion of the property for ‘fair and adequate compensation’. The Archdiocese, on the other hand, gifted its portion of land to the school.
Obviously, the ‘gift’ by the Archdiocese was to the benefit of the school and arguably therefore to Catholic education. However, canon law requires that prior to making such a ‘gift’ (canonically referred to as ‘alienation’) the Archbishop must get the consent of the Archdiocesan Financial Council and its College of Consultors, who are to assess whether such a decision is rationale, practical, and in accord with the general priorities of the Archdiocese. I have seen nothing to indicate that these consultative bodies were ever informed of the decision, much less that their consent was sought. Nor was such consent likely to be forthcoming. After all, this ‘gift’ was given just shortly before the Archdiocese’s first ‘restructuring’, its freezing of the lay pension plan, and its significant reduction in other benefits provided to lay employees.
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