BishopAccountability.org
	Bill Would Force Church to Disclose Its Finances Attitude Shifts on Beacon Hill By Frank Phillips Boston Globe [Boston MA] August 8, 2005 The Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, still dealing with the fallout from the clergy abuse crisis and upheaval over church closings, faces a major battle on Beacon Hill this week as lawmakers push for an unprecedented measure to force the church to open its books to the public. The legislation, authored by state Senator Marian Walsh and backed by 32 other lawmakers, is being considered at a time when the church faces deep skepticism and in some cases open hostility from politicians on Beacon Hill and at City Hall. Some lawmakers who champion the bill, which will be brought up at a hearing Wednesday, previously stood side by side with church leaders on policy issues like abortion. The legislation, which would require all religious organizations to file annual financial reports and a list of real estate holdings with the attorney general's charities division, is opposed by the Catholic Church and major mainline Protestant denominations. It is being watched as a test of how much clout the archdiocese still retains with the state's political establishment. Walsh, a West Roxbury Democrat, began exploring the idea for the bill when she heard from lay Catholics, who wanted more information about the financial health and holdings of the archdiocese as it settled civil suits and launched a sweeping reconfiguration of parishes. She said as perhaps the largest charity in the state, the Catholic Church should be subject to the same disclosure requirements as other nonprofits. The Rev. Dr. Diane Kessler, executive director of the Massachusetts Council of Churches, which represents 1,700 non-Catholic congregations, said her organization is concerned that the legislation would infringe upon on the separation of church and state and that it would impose burdens on small Protestant churches. But she also acknowledges that the thrust of the bill is directed at the archdiocese. "It does appear that legislators, a majority of whom are Roman Catholics, are trying to deal with concerns that are about the internal workings of their church and using the power of government to deal with it," Kessler said. Not too long ago, such a proposal would have almost certainly been shipped to a legislative graveyard. Legislative leaders such as former Senate president William M. Bulger and former House speaker Thomas M. Finneran -- both considered allies of the archdiocese and who tightly controlled the flow of legislation -- are no longer on Beacon Hill to offer help. Along with Walsh, the bill has attracted support from other formerly reliable allies of the church, such as state Senator Michael W. Morrissey, a Democrat from Quincy, and Robert A. Antonioni, a Democrat from Leominster. Walsh's leadership on the issue is rooted in strong anger. Until recently she and other Catholic public officials never questioned the church, she said. "There was acceptance of their moral authority." For those familiar with Massachusetts political and religious history, the sharp criticism of the church by elected officials is startling. In just the past few months, Secretary of State William F. Galvin filed a civil complaint against the church, accusing the archdiocese of siphoning money from a cemetery-care fund and neglecting the upkeep of the graveyards; Mayor Thomas M. Menino called the archdiocese's lockout of children from the Our Lady of Presentation school "reprehensible" and "unconscionable"; the Boston City Council introduced -- but later shelved -- a nonbinding referendum for the city election ballot that read, in part, "Do you agree that, to date, the Archdiocese of Boston has failed to work effectively with Boston's neighborhoods to mitigate the impacts of Catholic parish and school closings?" It's a jarring departure from the profound respect the church commanded from politicians in the past, said Thomas H. O'Connor, Boston College university historian. "I am startled," said O'Connor. "Having been born and grown up in this social religious climate, what has happened in a space of two or three years is just extraordinary. This is a sea change that completely alters the balance of religion and politics in Boston." He said the church does retain some influence, but it's much diminished. "What is startling is that it has come quickly and this is a major change in a short period of time and that it has gone so deeply," he said. "It's a different world we live in," said Menino, who has been critical of the church's administrative moves, though he contends Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley is trying hard to rectify problems. "Everyone was scared to speak up in the past out of fear. Now we are more independent," Menino said. "Myself, I feel I have an obligation to speak up when I feel there is something wrong." The Rev. J. Bryan Hehir, president of Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Boston, acknowledged that the church has been hit hard by the sex abuse scandal. He said financial pressures and the need to restructure parishes has added to the strain in the church's relationship with its parishioners and the political and civic communities. "What we have got is the intersection of the consequences of the sex abuse problem and the very different problem of reconfiguring parishes," said Hehir, who was asked by the archdiocese to speak to the Globe. "It is an ecclesiastical tsunami -- two things that are totally different things, but both creating something greater than either one." Hehir said that he is particularly troubled by some of the rhetoric that has been generated in the upheaval. "I am surprised there is an edge to this and at the kind of tone," he said. "That needs to be resisted. And we need to be clearly repentant and apologetic about the sex abuse and aware of the complicated process of reconfiguration." He also urged understanding of what the church faces, especially with parish closings underway. "We have been trying to carry off an enormously complicated social process," he said of the archdiocese's decision to close 83 of its 357 parishes. "Just look at the emotional reaction when you close an Army base. But closing an Army base is a piece of cake compared to closing a parish." City Councilor Jerry P. McDermott of Brighton, who has battled the church over the closing of the Our Lady of Presentation school, said the willingness of elected leaders to criticize church decisions may ultimately prove constructive for the archdiocese administration. "Elected officials are not quietly going along and doing what they are told do," McDermott said. "In the end, it could hopefully be the cleansing process that is needed for the chaotic church administration in Boston."