Posted on 01/24/2014 5:40:14 AM PST by TurboZamboni
ST. PAUL, Minn.—The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis paid millions of dollars in costs associated with clergy misconduct in the last decade, according to internal church documents. An investigation by Minnesota Public Radio News ( http://bit.ly/1aMnkYs) found that from 2002 to 2011 the archdiocese used two secret accounts that were controlled by the archbishop to pay nearly $11 million in costs related to allegations against priests.
The figure represents about 3 percent of overall archdiocese revenues in those years.
MPR reported Thursday that the money was used for persuading priests to leave active ministry, for legal settlements, for therapy for victims and priests, and other costs. The documents also show the archdiocese paid a private investigator $112,000 over 10 years.
The system allowed archdiocese leaders to remove priests accused of child abuse or other misconduct without attracting attention. But the secrecy also left the archdiocese vulnerable to embezzlement.
In a statement Thursday, the archdiocese said a new chief financial officer hired in December 2012 has started implementing procedures for greater transparency.
(Excerpt) Read more at twincities.com ...
Accused clergy didn’t cost churches all that money.
Not turning information over to law enforcement when there was an incident, and retaining these perverts cost them the money.
Self inflicted wound.
The number is higher in Los Angeles:
About $67 per Catholic, more than $1 million per parish [Cost of LA settlement in perspective]
LA cardinal apologies, offers record abuse deal
L.A. Archdiocese to Pay $600M to sex crime Victims
L.A. Catholic Church Abuse Cases Could Yield Half-Billion Dollar Settlement (announcement Monday)
Good. A price should be paid for willful ignorance.
Remind me again...why religious groups deserve tax-free status. Between the mega church crowd, scientology, and wheeler-dealer parsons....there’s something wrong with the cash-flow business.
Because the government is restricted by that constitution from regulating religion. The power to tax is the power to destroy.
There is a tremendous difference between religious liberty and religious toleration. Until the last century, our civil government recognized and behaved as if our churches enjoyed a co-sovereignty in the land, meaning churches were not beholden to the state for their legal existence. A church's tax-exemption (even without a 501(c)3 filing) was an assumed status made by both parties, because the civil government recognized that a church owed it's taxes to another Lord, and not to the civil government itself.
Today, however, the civil government decrees that it can award or withhold tax exemption to churches, based upon the terms of the 501(c)3 rules. This is not liberty - this is toleration. If a church becomes intolerable to the government, the government can tax it or even seize it's property. In practice, the civil government behaves as if it is God, demanding tithes from all in exchange for sustenance.
It is my belief that all Trinitarian churches should enjoy an automatic tax-free status recognized by the civil government. Then again, it's also my belief that the civil government should formally declare the Lord Jesus Christ as it's sovereign head, and not tax it's citizenry any more than 10%. If the civil government insists on behaving as if it is a god, then I'm in favor of churches bribing it with "tax" monies, if that will allow them to continue preaching against the false god.
Archbishop John Nienstedt is a good man. He inherited a BIG mess from his two previous predecessors.
You might want to rethink your statements. Some priests actually had the chutzpah to sue for (and receive) "settlements," particularly in those cases where nothing had been proved against them in court, upon being removed from the ministry. The dioceses therefore started to offer them a certain amount, usually not more than $10,000-$20,000 upon removing them, particularly in cases where there really wasn't enough legal foundation for prosecution. These were one-time payments and were to pay for expenses during the time that the former priest was finding a job and housing.
Some of it was also used to pay legal settlements to victims, but some was used to pay for therapy for victims, particularly in those cases where there really wasn't any criminal legal recourse. That sounds pretty fair to me.
And incidentally, most of the victims - those who were legitimate - probably didn't want their names and details publicized, either.
This is the cost of life. When we mess up and when official people hurt folks, we must pay to help those terribly injured and we must pay to clean up the mess that we create when we try to cover up sin. It’s good use of our donations because it was necessary to do what we could to fix things.
When natural disasters happen or unnatural, we must pay to right things the best we can and not avoid it, yet we don’t wish to pay more than is necessary. That’s the cost of life. The Catholic Church is learning and will lead to better standards in the future for the UN and our country to adopt and this will be the great good that God brings out of sin, as He always does.
You have the judicial system you have today from what the Church learned via the Inquisition.
The folks that criticize the Church for abuses are right. The folks that hate the Church for man’s sin have their own degradations of the human person to be in denial about.
Using a prostitute, raping an adult or a child, watching porn, sex outside of marriage, sex without marriage - these are all the selfish self-worshiping sins that we spit in God’s eye with. It makes us feel good when we can point to some large organization or some freak down the street and say “BAD GUY” when indeed we are doing evil ourselves, worshiping our own lust for gratification as the god in our lives.
It is beneficial to the state to give tax exemption to nonprofit churches which work to bring souls to be controlled from within, so that men need not be controlled from without, thus enabling small government, and a stable yet free society which is conducive to learning and achievement in other areas.
And fosters sound judgment on who to elect. etc. Which the evangelical gospel does, besides spiritual and other benefits.
However, the 1st Amendment would not allow tax exemption in such a restricted sense, thus "501(c)(3) exemptions apply to corporations, and any community chest, fund, cooperating association or foundation, organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes, to foster national or international amateur sports competition, to promote the arts, or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501(c)_organization"
Therefore it is is not just religious groups, but non-profits in general that are TE, and it (mainly) serves the liberals interest since the 501(3)c status outlaws such endorsing any candidate, or conducting political campaign activities to intervene in elections to public office, and lobbying (LBJ authored that).
Removing the 501(3)c tax exemption would serve the liberal interest the most by reducing the threats from churches and others.
501(c)(4)allows conducting political campaign activities to intervene in elections to public office, but not as tax exempt, and actually contributions to 501(c)(4) organizations are usually not deductible as charitable contributions for U.S. federal income tax, with a few exceptions.
Dues or contributions to 501(c)(4) organizations may be deductible as a business expense under IRC 162, although amounts paid for intervention or participation in any political campaign, direct lobbying, grass roots lobbying, and contact with certain federal officials are not deductible.[51] If a 501(c)(4) engages in a substantial amount of these activities, then only the amount of dues or contributions that can be attributed to other activities may be deductible as a business expense. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501%28c%29_organization
This gives details on the Tea Patry issue: http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/the-wetumpka-tea-party-and-defining-potential-political-cases/
Sound complicated? Thus the need for interpreters, which the voters elects, even if indirectly. .
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