In Tour of Finances, a Healthy Diocese

For the first time in nearly 15 years, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange on Sunday gave parishioners a detailed look at its ledger, which shows a financially healthy organization with $150 million in net assets and $21.5 million in net income for the past fiscal year.

“It’s absolutely historic,” said Msgr. Bill McLaughlin, who sits on the Diocesan Finance Council. “This is one of the best things that’s happened. There’s relief that disclosure has become part of our Catholic tradition.”

The four-page report, made available to all county Catholics as they attended church Sunday, fulfilled a promise made by Bishop Tod D. Brown when he took office in 1998 to shine a brighter light on the financial books of the diocese. Priests had lobbied for the change, and Brown had published similar reports as bishop of Boise, Idaho.

Retired Bishop Norman F. McFarland, who served 12 years as the leader of the diocese before stepping down in 1998, hotly disputed the notion that the finances were ever kept private.

During his tenure, “nothing aroused less interest than publishing financial reports,” McFarland said. “Anyone who asked for a copy of them got them. But people rarely, rarely asked.”

But church officials found intense interest among parishioners Sunday. At Our Lady Queen of Angels Church in Newport Beach, copies of the diocesan newspaper, which contained the report, were gone after one service.

“There’s a huge curiosity among people,” McLaughlin said. “Hardly any kid in any family wouldn’t want to know how much their parents made.”

The move to make the finances more accessible has boosted the morale of the clergy, priests said. Many other Catholic districts across the nation have disseminated such reports, although they are not obligated to do so.

“It’s something people had a lot of questions about,” Father Vincent M. Gilmore said. “For the priests, it’s about openness, and I think they appreciate that.”

The report for fiscal year 2000, which ended June 30, reflects a financially robust organization that got a 12% return on its investments and has no debt.

The diocese had record revenue of $55.7 million, the report showed. In addition to investment income, other sources of money included insurance and cemetery revenue and donations from the collection box.

“I’m thrilled that the bishop did it,” said Dwight Jones of the Catholic Worker, a poverty relief agency in Santa Ana. “I guess it’s a really important part of modern Catholicism to let the people participate. It’s a tremendous affirmation of our financial adulthood.”

The financial size of the relatively young diocese, established 25 years ago, is dwarfed by its neighbor, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Revenue for the archdiocese in the fiscal year ending June 1999 was nearly 10 times that for the Orange diocese. The archdiocese has 4 million Catholics, in Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, giving it four times the population of the Orange County district.

McLaughlin said the Diocese of Orange, with more than 1 million Catholics, is the second largest West of the Mississippi River, after Los Angeles, and “way up there, maybe in the top 10%” nationally, in terms of financial strength.

McLaughlin praised McFarland and founding Bishop William R. Johnson for their acumen in building an economically sound diocese.

“The diocese was set up very well,” McLaughlin said. “We’re the ideal for the country when it comes to conservative fiscal management.”

The move reflects the new administration under Brown, considered a “new school” bishop. Brown appointed the first Latino auxiliary bishop in the diocese, increased the number of lay leaders with various types of expertise, is adding three churches in Santa Ana, and heads the church’s national ecumenical and interfaith affairs.

Brown couldn’t be reached for comment Sunday.

“There was some fear of the oohs and ahhs of the numbers when the report was published,” McLaughlin said. “But whatever the figures, the question would be the same: Are we still promoting the Gospel?”

With the books open, a debate within the diocese will soon begin. Does a 12% return on investments reflect a strategy that’s too risky, too safe or just right? How much money should be spent on new parishes? Are poorer parishes and poverty relief agencies getting enough of the money?

“The struggle with having a large number of assets is a challenge for diocesan leaders on how you help the poor,” said Father Joseph R. Robillard, pastor of economically diverse St. Joachim parish in Costa Mesa.

Robillard, pleased with the publishing of the report, added that earlier this year the diocese forgave the debt for some of the parishes in financial straits.

“What it showed me was that the bishop was really trying to live by what the Gospel says and put it into practice,” Robillard said.

The diocese has undergone explosive growth in recent years, with membership growing from 595,000 in 1996 to more than 1 million today, according to Catholic officials.

The increase has been fueled both by new development and expanding immigrant communities, especially Latino. The bishop’s introductory remarks in the budget report were published in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.

It’s unknown how the public financial disclosures might affect the upcoming capital campaign for future needs in the diocese, including building new parishes and possibly a new cathedral in Santa Ana.

The church has added only two churches during its 66% growth spurt over the past four years, and already has plans for six church renovations and five new parishes. The diocese recently spent $11.6 million on buying property for future churches.

“I really hope people won’t be dismayed by the church’s wealth,” said Jones of the Catholic Worker. “I do pray that both the church and the people of God will continue to be generous.”

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Making a Statement

In the first widely publicized financial report in nearly 15 years, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange showed a healthy financial picture.