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Subscribe to RSSThe Boston Archdiocese is defending six-figure salaries paid to a growing number of church employees, saying the pay is commensurate with their talents and work duties.
The Boston Herald on Wednesday reported that the archdiocese’s latest annual report lists 17 “senior lay executives” who earned more than $150,000 last year. In 2006, only five employees were paid that much, according to the newspaper.
The Boston Catholic Insider blog reported similar figures for 2011 in a post last month titled “Bloated Payroll” but said just two employees were making $150,000 in 2006.
Topping the 2011 list was Mary Grassa O’Neill, superintendent of the archdiocese’s Catholic schools, whose total compensation topped $351,000, the Herald reported. The top archdiocesan lawyer earned $326,169, while the recently departed chancellor, the archdiocese’s top financial officer, grossed $276,486.
The newspaper noted that the archdiocese has cut 50 staff members since 2006 but payroll costs increased by nearly $1 million.
Archdiocesan spokesman Terrence Donilon said it’s important to look at the pay structure “with a broader brush.” He told msnbc.com in an email that the archdiocese is in the midst of an "extensive rebuilding effort” and its annual financial reports are “the most extensive and transparent” of any diocese in the U.S.
“What this demonstrates is great progress by the Archdiocese, financial stability and a Church that is pointed in the right direction because of Cardinal Sean (O’Malley’s) leadership and the combined efforts of our priests, religious, deacons and laity,” said Donilon, whose compensation topped $193,000 last year, according to the Herald.
Donilon says a total of $8.3 million was spent in fiscal 2006 on for salaries and services. Adjusted for inflation, that equates to $9.5 million in fiscal 2011. Actual current spending on the same salaries and services, including the 17 positions referenced, is a little under $9.3 million, he says.
"While it is true to say there are more positions at higher rates of pay compared to FY2006, it is important to note that many of these positions replaced contracted services which were at higher cost levels and also were not able to provide the level of service and productivity experienced today," Donilon said.
The Archdiocese of Boston, which serves more than 1.8 million Catholics, is the fourth-largest archdiocese in the U.S.
Boston Catholic Insider insists the six-figure salaries for top brass are "excessive" and has urged the archdiocese to cut back.
“For the sake of the fiscal health of the Boston Archdiocese, out of fiduciary responsibility to be a good steward of donor funds, and for the sake of the ability of the diocese to carry out the saving mission of Jesus Christ for years to come, we hope and pray we are pleasantly surprised and some meaningful change occurs here,” it said in a recent post.
Peter Borre, chairman of the Council of Parishes, a group fighting church closures, says the high salaries run counter to “the basic spiritual mission of the Catholic Church.”
“The crushing overhead weight at headquarters is becoming an intolerable burden for many parishes, and if the archdiocese wants to cut costs, it should start with Braintree (archdiocese headquarters), not in the churches,” Borre told the Herald.
Donilon accused Borre of creating “chaos and rumor mills” with regard to the church. “He has a strange obsession with criticizing the Church that only he can explain,” Donilon wrote to msnbc.com.
“In fact it is interesting that the Council of Parishes, so interested in our finances, does not file its own annual report or public accounting for the activities of his organization. Mr. Borre raises thousands of dollars from Catholics to support his efforts to damage and challenge the Church yet nowhere has he ever once filed a financial report.”
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Now you don't think Jesus wants his "representatives" to be poor, do you?
Had they behaved, they wouldn't need so many lawyers.
Organized religion is nothing more than people tying to make money off your faith. You do not need to go to a building once a week to be a good Catholic/Jew/Protestant/whatever. You can just as easily practice your faith at home and not give these money grubbers the donations and/or dues they demand. If the archdiocese of New York were a private corporation it would rank in the top of the Fortune 500. I am sure the Boston archdiocese would not be to far behind. There is no excuse for the senior church officials to eat off of fine china with sterling silver utensils and drink from expensive crystal and gold goblets while there are Catholics in New York starving to death. There is no reason for these senior lay officials in the church to make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Yes, they deserve a decent living wage, but for them to live in luxury while other of their face are starving goes against the teachings of virtually every religion.
The Jewish religion is in many cases no better. When I was in school in NY I started going to services at a local temple in town. You would think that as an out of town student they would welcome me with open arms - this was not the case. After about the third time I went, I was approached by one of the officials of the temple and told that if I was going to attend every week, I really should join the temple. Keep in mind, that I was wearing a school blazer and they knew full well that I was an out of town student. To put this in perspective, joining this temple involved a $25,000 initiation fee and $2,500 a year in dues. Obviously as a student there was no way I could afford this and was highly insulted and shocked, not to mention put off by the fact that they would even ask such a thing of me. I never went back. There are some good ones though. Another temple I as associated with through friends had no set dues. All they asked was that people contribute what they felt they could afford. This temple was never short of funds. Unfortunately, the first case is far more common than the second in most religions.
Religion is big business and all most of these so called churches, temple, etc. care about is how much money they can squeeze out of their members. As I said above, you do not need to go to a building once a week to practice your faith. Worship at home and tell these money grubbers where to go - they do not represent what true faith is supposed be about.
"For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." Matthew 18:20. The speaker was said to be Jesus the Christ.
"Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Next chapter. Matthew 19:24. The speaker was said to be Jesus the Christ.
"Organized religion is a pox on the planet, a fraud upon the poor, and a reservoir of hypocrisy for those who lead it." Newsvine, Wednesday, March 21, 2012. The speaker is David Walker the Accurate.
This is quite deplorable.
Not to raise the specter of sexism, I remember reading an account that the Catholic church does not take good care of nuns who have retired from a life of service in the church as teachers or nurses, or whatever.
According to the article, the retired sisters sometimes live in dire poverty, as little provision is made for them by the church. I can't remember where I read about this, but I do remember that it was a reputable source. At the time I thought that I bet the retired priests are taken care of pretty well. This was well before the predatory sex scandals broke in the news.
Now we are reading that "lay" persons employed by the church are making six-figure salaries. I wonder, if their services are worth so much, why aren't they working in the corporate world, or if they want to serve the church community, why isn't it "pro bono" or modestly paid?
If you are going to criticize, get your facts straight. The people mentioned in this article are not Christ's "representatives". They are the employees of the Archdiocese of Boston. They have accepted an employment situation. Just as a doctor or nurse in a Catholic hospital may not even be a Catholic.
Anyone get the impression that there are people actively attempting to take religion down in the US? Shutting down bank accounts and accusing the church of money laundering? Starting to push for loss of tax exempt status? Denying gifts from the church as unwanted? No food donations because of salt content? Removal of all religious elements from the public? Vocal media reports of the need to rid the public of religion because it might be offensive to non-believers and those in other religions? People making broad, anti-religion generalizations (well, they don't take care of people, religion is so passe, they are all kid touchers, etc.) and washing all of religion negatively without attempting to counter any bad aspects with the good religion offers the public.
Similarly, taking away the tax advantages of donations and then building new and larger government programs to fill in the "needs" of the people? Doesn't that seem like the government is attempting to be the sole source to the people??
This country was formed for the freedom of religion and independence from overbearing government. Why is it that we want to get rid of religion and have the government take over all aspects of our society (banks, education, social services, industry, energy, etc.)? I don't think that is a good thing and I think it's something we'll regret if we allow the trend to succeed.
America is a democracy-- these Catholic folks are obviously making their salaries due to people willingly opening their wallets for their "service"-- or am I wrong?
150K isn't that much anymore because of the devaluation of the dollar due to the nonstop whine of the printing presses over at the Treasury. You can thank the current administration for not understanding how inflation works. Also The church is a private organisation and therefore shouldn't have to answer to some overly suspicious reporter out to make the church look bad. Now I do think that anyone in political office or their staff shouldn't make anymore in a year than a PFC in the Marine corp does because of all the other perks they get and that they should be honored with the privilege of serving their country. You want separation of church and state and this is it. What any church pays an employee is no one else's business. How would you like it if news people started showing up at your work raising questions as to whether you deserve the pay you get for sitting at a desk all day? This is a non story.
Who cares? If you don't like what the church is doing then don't go. The ironic thing is the same liberals who wine about this have no problem with hundreds of lazy government bureaucrats making similar salaries. And that's something the rest of us are forced to contribute towards. Hypocrites.
If you are not putting money in the collection plate, this does not affect you. Just figured I'd throw that little fact out for all the non-catholics that will probably put thier two cents in.
The concept of greed and corruption runs against the teachings of Christ. The shepherded flock pays for religious services while God given salvation is free.
Man brokers the love of God.
Jantor, you wrote:
Based on your understanding of the Employer/Employee relationship vis a vis the Catholic Church, I conclude - perhaps erroneously - that you have no problem with the government position in this manufactured brouhaha over "birth control".
You have made the case that the Catholic Church has two separate roles - one in the spiritual realm of religion, the other in the temporal world of employment - and you have clearly destroyed the argument that they are NOT subject to labor law.
Do I misunderstand?
/s/ David Walker the Curious.
It just goes to show that these charlatans are more interested in money than helping those in need. That's the real sin of all these charlatans running church and religions of today. It's a business looking to make profits off the stupid of the American sheeple.
Church and religion is a business. Tax them, or shut them all down.
Remember, the bible speaks of charlatans and wolves in sheep's clothing. When was the last time your charlatan leader spoke of that?
Save your money for your family and close friends for a rainy day, and help someone out in need personally. don't expect the church to help anyone (including you). Haven t you noticed the homeless population and hungry population growth in America as church and religions get bigger and bigger?
End all church and religions in America is what's needed. It will set the people free of these charlatans that are robbing them.
This is why when I hear old-time parishioners say they don't want married priests because they don't want to support their families (charitable right?), I laugh. I mean, with the severe priest shortage, if these honchos were ordained, they could say Mass on the weekends.
I don't give to the Bishop's appeal because I'd like to see where the money goes. Most of the promos cost big $$$. As I Catholic, I give right to the organization (like homeless shelters) who are doing the work.
Ending all churches and religion won't work and is probably a bad idea. Sadly, many people simply need to be told what to do. Maybe churches need some kind of regulations? Of course Republicans would never go for that! I guess the deserve what they get.
I'm not sure why no one has pointed this out, but the median household income in the US is only $50,000. Why in the world would anyone support any group of people earning more than the median income off of DONATIONS? Some of these people making these donations are poor! How can anyone justify this? Church officials part of the 1%, while their followers are part of the 99%. It's disgusting.
This is another reason why I have come to think nearly all charities are just a front for a few people to get rich. How do these people live with themselves?
As a liberal, I am equally appalled that our representatives earn such exorbitant salaries. I don't see too many people in support of those salaries, least of all liberals. The above poster who suggested liberals were OK with these salaries doesn't have a clue.
Indeed, the catholic church is rich, rich, rich. Ever seen the vatican up close and personal? They did not take a vow of poverty, for sure.
THERE IS NO VOW OF POVERTY for most of the people in the Catholic Church. If you don't like that, choose another religion.
Just a stupid arguement, from a Protestant society. Its really not a problem. Don't be Catholic if you don't like it. I'm not Catholic, I wouldn't recommend being Catholic, and I'm not going to b!tch about Catholics employees paid a lot of money when they have no promise to not.
Be more upset at the things the Catholic Church DOES promise, matter MUCH MORE and that they do not do.
FYI, yes, you can quote the Bible...let's just cut that right off. If you aren, you already are, you are already, again, making a Protestant arguement.
Well, democracy has nothing to do with it, really. All throughout history, in both democratic and non-democratic states, people have given a percentage of their wealth, either through tithing or through charitable donations, to the Church. The question is whether or not the Church is making a good decision to pay employees 2 to 3 times the average wage. As an economist, I don't buy into the theory that these folks need a high salary in order for the Church to secure qualified individuals. With this country, under the current climate, there are unemployed individuals who are highly qualified and would work in the same positions for far less money. I know of a powerhouse company in L.A. that just hired a man standing outside of the office buildings with a cardboard sign "MBA for Hire." They started him out at 25% less than a new hire would have started
at in 2008, and yet he's proving to be an incredible asset. Despite a lower wage, he was happy to work and happy to receive a livable wage for the area.
The Church should do what they tell all of the rest of us to do, trust that God will provide. Sarcasm aside, the Church, as I understand from an economist’s point of view, is a Theocratic system operating under the pro-religion protections of a democratic capitalistic economy (America). If the Church has terminated jobs, shut down local churches, and yet managed to report higher payroll wages, I’d say there is a huge disconnect between the purpose of the Church and the amount of fundsbeing funneled to that purpose. A disconnect democracy would iron out, if given an opportunity.
repost:
JS in SD
Organized religion is nothing more than people tying to make money off your faith. You do not need to go to a building once a week to be a good Catholic/Jew/Protestant/whatever. You can just as easily practice your faith at home and not give these money grubbers the donations and/or dues they demand. If the archdiocese of New York were a private corporation it would rank in the top of the Fortune 500. I am sure the Boston archdiocese would not be to far behind. There is no excuse for the senior church officials to eat off of fine china with sterling silver utensils and drink from expensive crystal and gold goblets while there are Catholics in New York starving to death. There is no reason for these senior lay officials in the church to make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Yes, they deserve a decent living wage, but for them to live in luxury while other of their face are starving goes against the teachings of virtually every religion.
The Jewish religion is in many cases no better. When I was in school in NY I started going to services at a local temple in town. You would think that as an out of town student they would welcome me with open arms - this was not the case. After about the third time I went, I was approached by one of the officials of the temple and told that if I was going to attend every week, I really should join the temple. Keep in mind, that I was wearing a school blazer and they knew full well that I was an out of town student. To put this in perspective, joining this temple involved a $25,000 initiation fee and $2,500 a year in dues. Obviously as a student there was no way I could afford this and was highly insulted and shocked, not to mention put off by the fact that they would even ask such a thing of me. I never went back. There are some good ones though. Another temple I as associated with through friends had no set dues. All they asked was that people contribute what they felt they could afford. This temple was never short of funds. Unfortunately, the first case is far more common than the second in most religions.
Religion is big business and all most of these so called churches, temple, etc. care about is how much money they can squeeze out of their members. As I said above, you do not need to go to a building once a week to practice your faith. Worship at home and tell these money grubbers where to go - they do not represent what true faith is supposed be about.
i sure hope they pay tax.
The Church does not. The employee does.
in this archdiocese, God don't run the bingo.
Catholics aren't the only ones with Bingo. Other denominations have it as well.
At least the Bingo money stays in the parish. That's usually what drives down the cost of tuition.
$150,000 is not excessive for a Catholic School Superintendent, but $351,000 IS. I wonder how much the teachers that Ms. O'Neill is supervising get paid?
When I was in junior high - back in the 70s - the Episcopalian school I attended paid its teachers (for junior/senior students, mind you) something close to a college professor's pay. Their reasoning was that they wanted the best possible teachers for the students in their school, and they were willing to pay to hire and retain them. If the Catholic schools have that attitude, then teacher pay is probably higher than public schools, resulting in a better pool of job applicants.
Teachers in Catholic schools are not paid anywhere near what their colleagues in the public sector are paid. Furthermore, they do not have tenure - are at will employees. The benefits are close to non-existent.
Jesus lived with next to nothing, so why are these people living in excess? Way to practice what you preach.
Exactly, the Pope lives in pure opulence apart from the people he supposedly represents. Anyone knows that a person living in such an environment can represent no one but himself.
It said lay people were receiving that much. Lay meaning not priests. Depending on the job why shouldn't they make comparable money to the same job elsewhere.
He also threw the money changers out of the temple, but I guess the bishop needs the money to fund their pedophilic endeavors...lol
It makes me ill. What do they have to pay for? Housing, and uniform should be free. Food?
Well religious organizations do exist in the physical world and as such do have to deal with practical matters, and that requires money.
They weren't referring to priests. People shouldn't comment if they don't know what a lay person is.
"They " have to pay for the same things you do. The article is about lay workers, not the clergy.
True but paying 150,000 seems way to much it should be somewhere between 30-60 thousand dollars. Remeber you do work for an institution that does not get taxed. Billions are also poured in from our tax dollars.
Lauren, I am sorry but your remark makes no sense. Why would a lay person, that is not a religious or clergy, be getting free housing and uniforms???? You are assuming that the people in these positions are priests or nuns? Let me tell you that nuns get nothing for FREE! But the positions mentioned are held by non-clergy or lay members.
What exactly do you think a "lay" person is? (im just curious to know what you think)
Strictly speaking, a lay person is any one who is not ordained or a member of the clergy. A nun or a religious member of a brotherhood could be considered part of the laity. In common use, it generally refers to anyone who is not part of a religious group, ordained or not; that is they are the members of the faith who are living outside of a religious organization. Because so few people are choosing a religious life, ordained or not, most positions in U.S. archdioceses are being filled by lay persons, or those not part of an ordained or other religious group (convent, monastery, etc)
The catholic church is no better than a greedy corporation.......... oh wait its worse! Telling people what kind of God to believe in, purporting to speak for God, telling people how to worship, telling people how to live their private lives, and last but not least perverting its priests into pedophiles and moving them from church to church to hide them from authorities thus allowing them to permanently injure MORE innocent kids! Yes, im so confident that God wants anything to do with such a holy institution.
Just amazing. Movie stars make millions to entertain us. Sports figures make tens and hundreds of millions to play a game. Yet people are complaining over a comparatively small six figure salary to help run a multi-million dollar, complex organization.
Oneiron, did you know that churches enjoy tax-exempt status in the United States? However fair the tax codes may or may not be, everyone else pays taxes.
Now, please tell us what is so complex about the Catholic Church, which for 2,000 years has profited from turning the sermons of an impoverished carpenter into a mega-big business that has exerted sometimes violent control over all kinds of political and social matters.
The term "shakedown" comes to mind, but additionally feel free to explain the insignificance of six-figure salaries.
You need multimillions if dollars to build those football stadium sized megachurches. Shouldn't God have the biggest house on the block? I had better say /sarc/
the money laundering, is that also part of your Gods work;
The history of the Catholic Church in the U.S. is one of the laity getting by cheap with priests and religious brothers and sisters providing tireless service for little or no compensation. With the ranks of these servants depleated, lay persons must fill these positions and compensation must keep pace with the private sector to attract decent talent. Protestant churches have been compensating their ministers and staff at these levels for years.
I have no problem with the practical matters the church deals with, I just have a problem with its pride and greed, as stated in my earlier post.
The history of the Catholic Church in the U.S. is one of the laity getting by cheap with priests and religious brothers and sisters providing tireless service for little or no compensation.
I don't know about you but the last church I attended was led by a priest with a Lincoln, a motorcycle, a pilot's license and private plane and time shares in Aruba and Hawaii (where he would go after Christmas and Easter to recover his energy after the exhausting work during the holidays supervising all the church volunteers who did the actual work.) Oh yeah and the time share in November to get ready for all the hard work during the holidays.
I give plenty of money to charity and not a dime of it goes to the Catholic Church (or any church) anymore.
And do you know the source of this wealth? Some priests and nuns that I know come from wealthy families.
If you want to attract talent and pay them what a business would pay them, tax the churches like any other business.
During the Inquisition the church burned heretics themselves, they didn't hire some 6-figure hitman to do it for them.
If priests are going to rape boys, they shouldn't be well-paid for their time.
This is pretty much moot anyway seeing as how the catholic church is a lie and a scam. Faith is universally open to EVERYONE and can only be acquired through personal life experiences. Faith requires no buildings no texts, nothing because it is as available for the taking as air. Religion is supposed to be a human made social structure where people can come together and share their experiences that faith has brought into their lives. But religion always crosses the line into telling people what kind of God to believe in, how to worship, and how to live their private lives, and none of this has anything to do with faith. Faith is ONLY a personal relationship between one person and God, absolutely nothing more. EVERYONE is free to worship God however they wish, and is completely free to speak with God themselves, no priest is required nor can a priest speak for God seeing as priests are just as human as you and I. A God that has the power, intelligence, and knowledge to create such a complex universe as ours is fully capable of speaking to all of us himself or herself, no one should purport to know the sex of God either.
'And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.'
Jesus was wrong then and he is wrong now; at least that is the idea I am getting from politicians in my government and a lot of the churches (especially catholic ones) nowadays.
Churches, all churches, should lose their tax exempt status and pay taxes just like any other business - because that is what they are.
Isn't this one of the dioceses that fought tooth and nail paying any kind of retribution to the people who were sexually abused by their clergy? Isn't this one of the dioceses that covered it all up? Isn't this one of the dioceses that said they did not have money to pay all the legal suits against them? Didn't they blame the media for all of their troubles? Where the hell are they now getting all of this money? What is wrong with their members that they are contributing to this? Each parish has to contribute a certain share of what it collects to the Bishop/diocese so basically the people/members are paying for this. Someone should be looking into that and then into how much Rome is collecting from Boston . These salaries seem very high at a time when ordinary parishioners are suffering from a weak economy and job lay offs. Wonder how much the Diocese is also paying to keep its Legislative Agenda going? I doubt if the members are getting their money's worth,especially not female members!
Everybody has their underwear in a about salaries!First of all kiddies let me point out that the Catholic Church's Educational System is no longer run by RELIGIOUS!It is run by LAITY!You have lay teachers and lay administrators.
The shortage of religious in catholic schools has forced the Arch Diocese to resort to this,in order to be able to keep their schools opened!Nobody especially lay people are going to work for peanuts,not anymore, not in this day and age.The Catholic Church woke up to this fact.Hence the high salaries for administrators in education!There's no choice here!
Lawyers working for the Diocese,again another lay person who won't work for peanuts!Lawyers don't work for peanuts!
When the Catholic is in the Wrong they're going to get Blasted by me,however, you people really have to look at the REAL FACTS AS TO WHY IN THIS CASE, before criticizing!
What would Jesus say?
Jesus would say,"We're not going to be able to pay anybody, because our church doesn't accept or use money."
The positions mentioned in the article are lay positions..lawyers, superintendents, etc. These people are paid a rate commensurate with their education, skills and experience. They are not clergy and are not expected to take a vow of poverty. If you want to talk about a poor return on your dollar, let's ask why Obama makes so much money.
President Obama to you, thank you...the difference is he 'earns' his money, not scams it from the Limp, the Lame and the taxpayers, also $Billions go to Rome to pay for the Franchise..
Wow, think how far that money could go in their quest to deny civil rights for gays.
Let Rick Santorum do the Job at McWages. He will be looking for a Job Shortly after the Mormon wins the Nomination...
What would Jesus do to the Money Changers?
Making a living in the name of God!
Tax the religion industry.