FutureChurch Position on Financial Accountability in the Cleveland Diocese

(Communication to FutureChurch members in the Cleveland Diocese)

Over the last several months, stories in the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported substantive evidence of hidden diocesan accounts as detailed by the defense attorneys for former diocesan employees, Joseph Smith and Anton Zgoznik. The motion for the defense includes records of many specific transactions, dates, amounts, and people involved.  Regardless of the eventual disposition of the fraud cases against these defendants, the evidence already put into the public domain raises serious questions regarding the Diocese's financial practices.   (See: http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/abbott/070220)

FutureChurch is therefore asking Cleveland Catholics to:

1. call for a credible third party review of all diocesan finances and financial practices. 

2. call for substantive safeguards to be put in place to assure Cleveland Catholics that these serious financial transgressions never happen again. 

3. ask  the diocese to support, or at least not oppose, legislation requiring faith based organizations such as the Catholic Church to follow the same accountability and transparency regulations required of other non-profit organizations.

4. commit to assuming our responsibility to encourage transparency and accountability in all diocesan and parish financial practices.

Suggested talking points for your letter, telephone call or email:

1. You are responding to the invitation issued earlier this year by diocesan financial office John Maimone in his “One Church Embracing the Future” report. Maimone wrote:

Questions? Please write to John Maimone, Chief Financial Officer, Catholic Diocese of Cleveland, 1404 East 9th St. 8th floor, Cleveland, OH 44114, call 1800-869-6525 ext. 5960 or email your question to jmaimone@dioceseofcleveland.org

2. Express concern that Cleveland Catholics are or will become reluctant to donate further to the diocese unless and until  a credible third party review of all diocesan financial practices is performed.

3. Require substantive safeguards be put in place to assure Cleveland Catholics that these serious financial transgressions never happen again. 

4. Note your reluctance to be  complicit with poor financial practices and lack of accountability if the diocese does nothing  If Catholics do not address our own internal problems, who will.?

5. Express your hope that with  a new financial team in place we can get past the mistakes of the past. But we can’t  get to a new place without a credible third party review.

6. Express the expectation that the diocese will support or at least not oppose legislation requiring faith based organizations such as the Catholic Church to follow the same accountability and transparency regulations required of other non profit organizations.

Thank you very  much.

Chris Schenk csj for the FutureChurch Board and Staff

P.S. Please let us know if/when you communicate with Mr. Maimone, and if you receive a response.

8/17/2007