Can We Compare the U.S. Government to the Catholic Church?

At the City Club of Cleveland, Peter Borre, Co-Chairman of the Council of Parishes, discussed how the Catholic Church responded to its financial crisis with austerity.

The Catholic Church’s financial crisis originated with the clergy sex abuse scandal. It is estimated that over the past 15 years, the Church has paid out between 3 and 4 billion dollars. This has devastated the dioceses of Boston, Cleveland, and appears currently to be hitting Philadelphia.

Given a major cash shortage, there are two logical ways to respond. The first alternative is to engage in austerity. You can reduce your expenses by downsizing. The second alternative is make up the cash shortage in some way: taxes can be raised, donations solicited or loans taken out. The American Church, under its American leadership, has chosen austerity. In Cleveland, the Church leadership chose to close 12 local parishes.

The United States government has also chosen austerity, as has Great Britain and the European Union. Responding to a financial crisis by reducing expenditures leads to the reduction of income, which leads to more reduction of expenditures. It’s a downward spiral. As the old saying goes: "You have to spend money to make money."

Why did the Church choose austerity? Here we must distinguish between the truth and the propaganda of the leadership.  The leadership pointed to demographics, the shortage of priests and the shortage of cash. According to Borre, however, the demographic argument is simply false. There has not been a decrease in the population served by the 12 parishes. As for the inability to recruit new priests and the shortage of cash, they are both the result of the corruption of the current leadership.

What could we expect from an assertive, positive, talented leadership, responsive to the needs and wishes of its membership?  Instead of seeing decline as inevitable, it would see that the demographics are positive and that the replacement of the current leadership with a new leadership committed to growth would bring about a dramatic influx of donations and a dramatic improvement in its ability to recruit priests.

Can we compare the U.S. government to the Catholic Church? Yes and no. Today, the United States, and much of the world, are suffering from a financial crisis brought about by the mismanagement of its leaders. Our political leaders have sided with the corporate power brokers of our political and financial systems and present austerity as a moral positive. In the same way that the Catholic Bishops put their religious careers ahead of the interests of the Church, we have a political leadership which puts the winning of elections ahead of the needs of the country. What is needed in both cases is a new leadership, responsive to the needs of its members and citizens.

The case of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland provides some grounds for optimism.  The Vatican has responded to the outrage of the people by ordering that the 12 closed Cleveland parishes be reopened. According to Borre, this response is unprecedented in the history of the American Catholic Church and is clearly meant to send a message condemning the American Church leadership. So chalk one up for the citizens, in opposition to corrupt leadership.

Unfortunately, passion for political change in America seems limited to the fringes: the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street. The great majority of Americans are watching politics on television, rooting for their team, disappointed in how poorly they are playing, but a win is a win.