What would you like to know about St. Joan of Arc? Do you have a story about our parish or of general interest that you think others would like to hear? For story ideas, contact Jeff Rholl, jeff@stjoan.com.

Handling the Money at SJA

85% of US Dioceses Report Embezzlement Over Past Five Years

    So starts the letter from Voice Of The Faithful, a Catholic lay organization dedicated to the role of watchdog for everything from priest sexual abuse issues to the status of women in the Church to the general lack of financial oversight in many rectories throughout the country.

    They quote a figure of $500,00 being embezzled over the last five years from 78 parish respondents out of 174 surveyed in a study about church management. They further concluded that in 11% of dioceses responding, a reported $4.3 million went missing from these dioceses alone. 

    “In the United States each year, nearly 70 million Catholics generously pour almost $6 billion into the Church treasury. But most of our parishes don’t have the level of financial controls that are commonplace in even the most modest American businesses,” the letter states.

    These figures are repeated in several articles in the March 9, 2007,  National Catholic Reporter and in a recent news article in the Star Tribune. 

    If you’ve read any of these reports, you may have wondered how moneys are handled here at St. Joan of Arc. Here is what I learned from an interview with Peter Eichten(right), parish administrator:

    First of all, the money collected on Sundays is put into a tamperproof bag by two persons and then put into a safe until it is counted by a crew of money counters. After that it is put in locked bank bags and deposited at Franklin Bank, a local bank committed to development of the city. Money that comes in during the week is handled and recorded by 2 different persons.

    “Our philosophy here is don’t tempt anyone,” Eichten says. “Even good people can cave in to temptation in a crunch. There are two ways that embezzlement happens, lack of oversight and sloppy bookkeeping.”

    He then explained what St. Joan’s does to prevent either of these things happening. The parish Finance Committee oversees the handling of all parish moneys and meets monthly to make sure of checks and balances. In addition there is an independent audit every year. 

    The Finance Committee creates an annual budget, with any major spending needing the approval of the Parish Council. A recent example of new spending, Eichten says, is the growing need for a  parish communications person whose job would be to present a rounded picture of the work done here at St. Joan’s.     “If we get into a conflict of any kind,” he says, “that’s news. Many people in the community see us only as wild rebels always in direct opposition to the larger Church. We need to let people know of all the good work that we do based on solid Catholic principles so as to present a fuller image to the general public. A good communicator could help us do that. The Parish Council and the Finance Committee have agreed on this, so this expenditure will be included in the budget next time around.”

    He says, “There are a number, perhaps 20-30, embezzlement cases in this diocese every year. He added that in the early 1980s a new code of cannon law required all parishes to install Finance Committees, a step in the right direction. “Still,” he emphasized, “If you don’t have the right system in place, it’s easy to cheat.”

    We have limited reserve funds that are in the bond market for emergency, but Eichten explained that it is a policy at St. Joan’s not to invest most of its revenue. “It’s safer and simpler,” he says. When persons turn their stock over to the church, it is sold almost immediately. 

    Even though all these financial controls are in place, our pastor, Father Jim DeBruycker(right) and Eichten, parish administrator, say the buck stops with them. Here is what they both have to say about St. Joan’s and its money:

    Peter Eichten: “We’ve had this system in place for the last 18 years. It’s a pretty good system. It’s safe and designed to make it difficult for anyone to steal from it.”

    Father DeBruycker: “When I look at St. Joan’s finances I am amazed. At St. Leonard’s a really good collection was $1200 a week. $1200 dollars is our electric bill for a week at St. Joan’s. Mrs. Holzinger took the collection home with her in a plastic bag. She kept the account records in a spiral binder. At St. Joan’s we have specially marked and sealed collection bags which are put into strategically located safes and  stay untouched until counted. The accounts are kept on computer and an auditing firm regularly checks up on our reports to make sure nothing is askew. The Finance Committee keeps a watchful eye on our financial or lack of financial progress. Frankly, I try to sit next to Ruth Shriver, at Finance Meetings, otherwise I haven’t a clue what’s going on. It’s a far cry from running a parish out of the check book in my back pocket.”

    All of which is to say we have yet another reason to be proud of St. Joan’s which manages to take care of our souls and our money, too.

Finance Committee Members: Ric Rosow, chair, Marie Manthey, trustee, Ruth Shriver, Mary Schell, Mike Dooley, Brad Hinker, Ray Spack, Jim DeBruycker, and Peter Eichten

Jo Welch-Youngren worked with Harvey Egan in the early days of St. Joan of Arc. At that time she, Cy and Joan Speltz, Nancy Anderson, Darlene Arbuckle, Ferry Deslauriers, and John McGowan made up the staff. We all pitched in and did everything that needed doing and had a ball every day. Jo’s first husband, Jack Welch, was buried from St. Joan’s in 1980. Later she married Dave Youngren, moved to New Mexico, then returned to her roots. Now she and Dave sit on the left side center at the 9:00 o’clock Mass on Sundays and love every minute of it. Jo can be reached at joandave@ties2.net.