Catholics in Cleveland diocese following the money [The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio]

Jan. 08--Parishioners throughout the eight-county Catholic Diocese of Cleveland are getting a first-time look this weekend at the money trail from parish properties that were closed and sold as part of a diocesan reconfiguration plan.

The financial information is included in the eighth annual diocesan "Report to the Community" that is being distributed as bulletin inserts during Mass at each of the diocese's 174 parishes.

This year's report is unique because half of it is dedicated to details of the cash flow from the sales of closed parish properties, in addition to the demographic and budget and spending information typically found in the document.

"As the diocese planned, the closed buildings are being utilized, as much as possible, for the general benefit of the community, and monies obtained through sales of parish property are being used first to pay outstanding liabilities of the closed and merged parishes, with the remaining being allocated in accordance with Canon (Church) Law," Bishop Richard G. Lennon wrote in the opening letter of the report.

The report shows that the diocese's finances have remained relatively stable over the past five years. It also outlines where the $19.5 million that the diocese received (through Sept. 30, 2011) from closed parishes -- including three in Summit County -- has gone.

The four-page report details that $7.8 million of the money has been distributed to operating parishes; $4.9 million has been used to pay expenses related to the closed parishes; and $6.8 million remains to support the closed properties that have not been sold. It also lists the names of the parishes that have been sold, along with their current uses.

The churches that were closed in Summit County as part of the diocesan consolidation plan were St. Hedwig, Akron; SS Cyril & Methodius, Barberton; and Sacred Heart of Jesus, Akron.

Sacred Heart and SS Cyril & Methodius both are now the property of nondenominational churches.

Although Holy Trinity in Barberton is listed in the report, it was closed in 2007 amid declining enrollment prior to the announcement of the reconfiguration plan in 2009. Holy Trinity, which currently belongs to a nondenominational congregation, is included in the report because its assets, liabilities and sale were managed by the diocese.

The report highlights St. Hedwig, which is now the property of Oriana House Services Inc., a chemical dependency treatment and community corrections service agency. A video -- one of two produced by students at Archbishop Hoban High School -- shows the work currently being done by Oriana House at the site.

The focus of the other local video is Blessed Trinity Church, a community formed as a merger between the former St. Martha and Christ the King parishes. Blessed Trinity also includes a significant number of parishioners from St. Hedwig. The videos and two others produced by students at Lake Catholic High School are available at www.dioceseofcleveland.org.

James P. Gulick, chief financial officer of the diocese, said that he hopes the videos and report will help answer any questions that parishioners have about the financial activities related to parishes that were closed.

"I believe the report shows that we have been very good stewards of the money," Gulick said. "In addition we've been good neighbors in the communities where parishes have closed. We've been able to turn these properties over to buyers who will enhance the communities where they are located."

Gulick said it is important to note that the financial accounting has been scrutinized by an independent auditor; that the diocese has acted as the custodian of the funds received from the closed parishes; that all monies related to the closed parishes must be used at the parish level, in accordance to Church law; that money from one closed parish is not used to cover the financial obligations of another closed parish with a deficit; and that the diocese has taken on the responsibility of maintaining the more than 20 vacant properties that have not been sold.

In the case of merged parishes, like the three in Summit County (Blessed Trinity; Visitation of Mary; and St. Bernard-St. Mary ), the assets and liabilities of the churches not being used as a worship site (Christ the King; St. John the Baptist and St. Mary) were transferred to the newly formed parishes. While the new parishes are responsible for operating expenses of the closed facilities, the diocese has provided some financial support.

St. Mary and St. John, which are now part of merged parishes, are among the 14 closed parishes in the diocese that have appealed to the Vatican to have the bishop's decision to close them overturned. Until the Holy See makes a ruling, those properties cannot be sold or disposed of. Those two churches are now the responsibility of St. Bernard-St. Mary and Visitation of Mary parishes, respectively.

The cost to manage closed properties in the diocese through Sept. 30, 2011 was $6.7 million, according to the report. Of that expense, the diocese has paid $3.2 million. The remaining $3.5 came from the $19.5 million pot the Diocese received from consolidation of parishes.

The $19.5 million includes money that was transferred from closed parishes ($10.1 million), money from the sale of 26 closed parish properties ($7.6 million) and a category identified as miscellaneous. The $1.8 million miscellaneous cash flow came from things like selling religious items and rental income.

Nearly $5 million of the money collected has been used to pay expenses related to the closed parishes. In addition to the $3.5 million that went to pay operating expenses like property upkeep, utilities, insurance and removal of religious items, $1.4 million was used to pay past due assessments to the diocese ($800,000) and to repay debts of the closed parishes ($600,000).

Some of that debt was incurred by loans from the diocese to make emergency repairs to buildings before.

According to the report, the $7.8 million that has "followed the people" of the closed parishes, has been distributed to open parishes (like Blessed Trinity, which received parishioners from St. Hedwig); to the Parish Assistance Fund, which is used solely to help parishes facing financial hardship and to charitable causes that were supported by closed parishes, including the priests' pension fund and a homeless shelter in Lorain County.

The diocese went from 224 to 174 parishes between August 2009 and June 2010 as part of a reconfiguration plan. In closing the parishes -- including nine in Summit County (six of which merged to form three new parishes) -- the bishop cited declining enrollment, financial hardships, population shifts from the city to the suburbs and a worsening clergy shortage.

The stated goal of the diocesan downsizing was to make the Church stronger and more vibrant in Cuyahoga, Summit, Lorain, Lake, Geauga, Medina, Wayne and Ashland counties. Gulick said the Report to the Community shows that the diocese is succeeding, noting that offertory collections over the last five years, shown in the report, have changed only a little.

From 2007 to 2011, the offertory has fluctuated up and down in a range of less than five percent, with the net change being down about 2 percent. In 2008, the biggest collection year, the diocese received more than $111 million in contributions. The smallest offertory amount -- about $106 million -- was recorded last year.

Gulick credited the stability in diocesan finances to the supportive people in the pews.

"The parish offertory has remained pretty stable amid a time of that included the consolidation process and challenging economic times," Gulick said. "Like last year, we're seeing an up-tick through the first six months of this fiscal year. It's not major but it's continuing in an upward direction.

"This shows that parishioners throughout the diocese remain generous in supporting the Church."

The full report distributed to the diocese's 710,351 Catholics is posted on the diocesan website along with separate status reports for each closed parish. The site also includes audited financial statements of the diocesan financial office.

On Monday, Gulick will join Lennon at a news conference to discuss the report.

Colette Jenkins can be reached at 330-996-3731 or [email protected]

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(c)2012 the Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio)

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