a day in the life of the Boston archdiocese

Your gift counts double until 5/31: $16,519 to go in our Easter Campaign. Please help now!

Click here to advertise on CatholicCulture.org

a day in the life of the Boston archdiocese

By Diogenes (articles ) | June 11, 2010 4:41 PM

From Our Store: Making Sense of Society (eBook)

Thursday morning, June 10, 2010

The leading fundraiser for Boston's Catholic schools tells the press that he's delighted the Church will be getting out of the health-care business.

Wait a minute. Didn't the announcement that the archdiocese was selling the Caritas Christi hospitals come along with a reassurance that the institutions would retain their Catholic identity? Yes, but then that was followed by the revelation that if the "Catholic identity" thing became burdensome, the new secular owners could pay t~~hirty pieces of silv~~ a large sum to complete the break. And now Jack Connors, the fundraiser, made it clear that he anticipates a thorough secularization. "“The decision of the church to get out of the business is brilliant,” he told the Boston Herald.

Thursday afternoon, June 10, 2010

A regular contributor to the archdiocesan newspaper, The Pilot, is forced to apologize for a column that provoked howls of outrage from gay and lesbian activists. Michael Pakaluk had written that children of same-sex couples should not be admitted to parochial schools because, among other reasons, they would be more likely to introduce their classmates to pornography. Pakaluk retracts that portion of his argument and expresses regret for having offended some readers.

Thursday evening, June 10, 2010

The latest financial figures show that one-third of all parishes in the Boston archdiocese are running budget deficits. The archdiocese as a whole was $2.9 million in the red for the last fiscal year. The priests' pension system is underfunded by $104 million.

That's the bad news. The good news is that all those figures were even worse last year. The vicar general, Father Richard Erikson, says: "Where there are many challenges, the outlook is anything but grim."

Coulda fooled me.

An appeal from our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus:

Dear reader: If you found the information on this page helpful in your pursuit of a better Catholic life, please support our work with a donation. Your donation will help us reach five million Truth-seeking readers worldwide this year. Thank you!

Easter Campaign:
Progress toward our Spring 2013 goal ($16,519 to go):

$80,000.00 $63,481.45

21% 79%

Read more from Off the Record

« Previous post

Sound Off! CatholicCulture.org supporters weigh in.

All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!

Show 3 Comments? (Hidden)Hide Comments

Posted by: samuel.doucette1787 - Jun. 22, 2010 8:28 AM ET USA
The Archdiocese is still a mess, despite the Cardinal Sean spin machine operating at the Pontius Pilot. Liturgical abuse, Catholic support of pro-abortion/pro-homosexual marriage "Catholic" politicians, feel-good catechesis, etc all continue, just as they did since the Cardinal Cushing era. And yet, the Globe and secular media still continue to pile on to the Church despite the local church's best attempts to suck up to them. Go figure, something about salt losing its flavor.
Posted by: St Thomas More Pray for Us - Jun. 12, 2010 3:21 PM ET USA
Maybe now that The Pilot apologized for offending people for the "strong" tone of an op-ed piece, Maureen Dowd will apologize for her strong tone that offends all of us.
Posted by: Chestertonian - Jun. 11, 2010 9:51 PM ET USA
Thank you, Uncle Di, for connecting the dots with straight lines. Glad I don't live in that diocese, but I'll add it to the long list of my prayer intentions for Adoration tonight. O, Holy Spirt, come and fill the hearts of your people!