Parishes can no longer be mom-and-pop operations with 'Trust Me' as their motto

By DENNIS M. SCHNURR

When it comes to church finances, scripture offers wisdom. The Old Testament, for example, provides a reality check. It suggests that theft has existed from the beginning of time when it declares, “Thou shalt not steal” as one of the Ten Commandments. The Lord’s Prayer suggests one remedy to the problem: “Lead us not into temptation.” That is something good accounting practices facilitate.

The recent article on church money matters (NCR, Dec. 29) highlights a growing concern of the U.S. bishops: lack of serious attention to financial accounting practices at the parish level. This is a problem for local groups of all religious bodies, not just the Catholic church, but with more than 19,000 parishes, we may have more accounting needs than anyone else.

Financial accountability can be a particular problem for churches that deal primarily in cash from the collection. Money is a temptation, be it to pocket a few dollars for legitimate expenses without bothering to account for them or to set up a Ponzi scheme with malice aforethought. Such failings don’t happen often, but they need to occur only in a few instances to harm.

The challenges before us are many. Most of all we need a change in mindset. Parishes are Christian communities where people meet one another’s needs, but parishes cannot be mom-and-pop businesses with “Trust Me” as their motto.

Church law requires parishes to have financial councils, and most parishes follow the letter of the law. But finance councils have to be more than good-willed people signing off annually on whatever the pastor advises them. They need to be comprised of people educated in finance, who know how to read financial statements. If such professionals do not live in a local parish, then they should be invited in from another.

Many parishes run on a shoestring where slim staffing and inadequate paperwork is the rule. At the same time the Catholic church today boasts of good-willed, well-educated laity, many with expertise in finance.

A layman who does not feel adequate to be a religious educator or is too shy to be an usher might be happy to work on the books. Members of the parish finance council should have authority accorded them and should have access to the bishop so they can report any suspicion of financial irregularity or concern for possible mismanagement. This is a matter of fiduciary responsibility, not disloyalty.

There also have to be well-publicized written policies that cover everything from having a division of labor -- counters, recorders, bookkeepers, and check signers -- to schedules for audits. Simple rules -- such as nobody counts money alone -- protect the counters not only from temptation but also from false accusations. Audits have to be done regularly. The annoyance of getting ready for one and the cost involved are far outweighed by the protection audits offer. Financial reports also must be published in readable form.

Adherence to such rules does not suggest mistrust; rather it serves to protect priests and parishioners. Should a theft occur when money was in a priest’s or a parishioner’s care, those persons would be primary suspects and it would help them to be able to show they followed acceptable financial practices. When one hears of instances where loyal parishioners bring home the Mass collection to count after dinner, one worries not only about possible theft but about the guilt the good-willed parishioners would feel if the money in their care were lost.

The recent study cited in the article “Internal Financial Controls in the U.S. Catholic Church,” by Robert West and Chuck Zech of Villanova University, suggested that a large percentage of dioceses have at least one parish where financial irregularity occurred in the last five years. They also found that in 93 percent of the cases, police reports were filed and in 91 percent of the cases insurance claims were filed.

Most of the cases were detected by the parish priest, then by the bookkeeper, an internal auditor and by the parish finance council. That is impressive stewardship on the part of the pastor and parish staff, but it would be preferable to create a scenario where such crimes did not take place. That’s where good accounting practices come in.

Their study also showed there was less embezzlement in dioceses with formal, written fraud policies, “presumably the result of better prevention.” It also suggested that with more frequent audits, chances of fraud detection would increase.

We in the church have resisted considering ourselves a business. Our first concern, of course, is the business of souls, caring for them, preaching to and teaching them. But we’re also in the business of stewardship and have to approach that responsibility in a professional way.

Dennis M. Schnurr is bishop of Duluth, Minn., and treasurer of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

National Catholic Reporter, February 2, 2007