Monday, December 20, 2004
FROM MY PARISH BULLETIN YESTERDAY:
Censors Target Christmas
The attempt by radical secularists to censor Christmas started early this year. They not only want to bar nativity scenes on public property, they want to shut down Christmas celebrations in the workplace.
On November 10, in a legal newspaper out of San Francisco, The Recorder, two lawyers advised those who work in human resources to protect their company by censoring Christmas. Putting up Christmas decorations, they warned, might create a "hostile environment based upon religion." Their conclusion: "When in doubt, go secular with decorations."
Here's what led them to that conclusion: "One police department in another state had to face that issue (what to do about Christmas decorations) when it received a religious discrimination complaint filed by a Jewish employee. The employee complained that the display of Christian-related holiday decoration (in this case, a nativity scene) violated his religious beliefs. As a result, the department banned all decorations with a Christmas theme, resulting in no Christmas tree, no Santas, no lights--nothing associated with the holiday season. Then there are proverbial battles over nativity scenes on public property. Town officials in LaGrange, Kentucky decided in November to stop a 14-year old tradition of putting a nativity scene on the courthouse lawn; they feared an ACLU lawsuit.
Most likely none of that is new to readers of Catholic blogs. I thought it was interesting that my pastor found it significant enough to put in the bulletin where space is at a premium.
When I was growing up, I often heard the advice from my mother, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." It meant, of course, that one went along with the majority unless it violated moral norms. Today she would have to say, "When in Rome, do as the Moslems do," because the minority now determines what will be permitted to the majority. Is this the way we really want to live? When the culture has been completely secularized, will a new religious belief then move in and take over, demanding that we pay homage to a strange god?
Also in yesterday's bulletin:
From The Most Reverend Anthony M. Pilla, Bishop of Cleveland
As part of our efforts to help assure trust in the fiscal operations of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland, I am writing to update you on the many actions taken already this year to provide strong leadership, appropriate internal controls and responsible stewardship of resources.
Most recently, John Maimone accepted my invitation to serve as Chief Financial Officer effective September 14, 2004. Mr. Maimone, a CPA, provides the utmost integrity and brings pertinent skills and experience to the position, having previously served as CEO and CFO of Premix, Inc., a closely held multimillion-dollar company in Ashtabula County. He also served as CFO of Smythe-Cramer Company and has extensive experience in a non-profit, youth development organization.
Previously, Brother Patrick Shea became General Counsel, effective June 1. Brother Pat, a veteran legal expert in civil and canon law, most recently held a similar position with the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, having previously served in the Legal Office of our diocese.
Anthony Lang, the retired managing partner of Hauser & Taylor LLC, provided strong and stable leadership in his capacity as Administrative Assistant to the Bishop for financial matters. I thank Mr. Lang for his outstanding service to the diocese. I also deeply appreciate the continued loyalty and hard work of the financial and legal staffs during this period of transition.
The Diocesan Finance Council, a panel of lay persons prescribed by Church law, continues to provide oversight of the Finance and Legal Offices, including reviewing and approving budgets. The seven-member council comprises persons with vast experience in business finances and operations who provide a valuable independent perspective for the diocese, and I thank the members for their continued service.
To provide greater accountability and sharper focus of resources, the Finance Office and the Legal Office now operate separately. Also, the Finance Council is now responsible for hiring the independent auditors, who submit their annual report to the Council.
The Finance Office has been restructured, and certain work that was previously done by outside contractors is now being handled internally. This will result in significant savings to the diocese.
We established a written Conflict of Interest Policy intended to minimize the possibility that diocese employees and members of advisory boards and committee engage in activities that actually, potentially or apparently conflict with the diocese's interests or interfere with its duty to serve the church's teachings and missions.
Beyond these actions, it is with gratitude to our parishioners that I am able to report that the Diocese of Cleveland remains on a solid foundation, as will be confirmed by the annual audit. Revenues, including parish collections, are above recent historical averages, and controls over expenditures have been significantly strengthened.
The Diocese of Cleveland remains committed to the highest standards of Christian stewardship and professional conduct. I pray that our efforts will result in renewed confidence among the good people of our diocese.
The announcement was made to give the laity confidence in the Cleveland Diocese once again. For me it doesn't accomplish its mission. Some of the reasons why:
1. Most glaring is the fact that "the Finance Council is now responsible for hiring the independent auditors, who submit their annual report to the Council". Am I misunderstanding something here? Are independent auditors going to bite the hand that feeds them?
2. The work of outside contractors being turned over to internal efforts in a cost-cutting measure also raises warnings of insularity.
3. How will separating the finance and legal offices work to insure greater accountability so long as both offices report to the bishop?
4. In fact, what I see in all of this announcement is evidence that everyone ultimately reports to the bishop, is subject to his hiring and firing, and thus is going to tell the bishop what he wants to hear.
What it comes down to, still, is that the bishop is in charge; and his bureaucracy might just have grown larger with this restructuring, though I can't be sure of that. Yes, the opportunity to make waves may be in place. The waves, however, could still be reduced to ripples if the bishop so determined that they will be. And this bishop's handling of the sexual abuse scandal does not inspire my confidence.
Final conclusion? Business as usual. But collections are apparently up, so everything is copacetic so far as the chancery is concerned.
Sigh.
