Fiscal year ends with slight deficit

The Worcester Diocese finished the 2017 fiscal year with a deficit of $278,802, or slightly more than 1 percent of its total expenses of $26,169,629, according to the diocesan annual report on financial activities.
If unrealized gains on investment are included, the diocese finished the fiscal year with a surplus of $1,116,885, or 4.25 percent of total support and revenue, according to the report. An unrealized gain in investment is the amount an investment has gained in value above the price at which it was purchased. It could be sold at that new price for a realized gain.
In the previous fiscal year there was a small surplus of less than 1 percent after accounting for unrealized gains, according to a press release from the diocese. The figures do not include the reports of individual parishes, which are posted online at worcesterdiocese.org/fiscal-affairs, or of parish or private Catholic schools.
In a letter to the diocese, Bishop McManus reported that the diocesan central administration reduced the line of credit due to the Diocesan Expansion Fund by almost $3.9 million. This was done by paying back loans to the DEF, according to Paul Schasel, diocesan director of fiscal affairs. (The DEF, also called the diocesan bank, is essentially a savings and loan unit for parishes and the diocese.)
However, the bishop said that receivables due from parishes - loans from the DEF that are still owed - were “essentially unchanged.”
“This is an indicator of a bigger, more systemic problem. Many parishes are struggling to develop  balanced budgets due, in part, the capital needs and increased maintenance costs,” the bishop wrote.
In an effort to address the issue, he said a feasibility study is in progress with a professional consulting firm in stewardship and development regarding a proposed capital campaign. It would benefit “specific diocesan programs such as Priests’ Retirement Care, Catholic education and the financial needs of our 96 parishes.”
The reports shows that Priests’ Retirement Care  had a deficit of $453,865 after support from restricted funds, plus $191,520 raised in October  2016 at a Celebrate Priesthood event. (Restricted funds are funds donated for specific uses.)
Central Catholic Schools finished with a $120,119 shortfall on operating expenses of $12,794,312, after support from restricted funds. There were 1,495 students in pre-kindergarten through Grade 12 in the four Central Catholic schools which are St. Peter Central Catholic Elementary School, Holy Name Central Catholic Junior/Senior High School and St. Peter-Marian Central Catholic Junior/Senior High School, all in Worcester, and St. Bernard Central Catholic High School in Fitchburg.
New to this year’s report is a review of the 2017 Partners in Charity Appeal which raised $5,125,527 in cash and pledges from 17,248 donors as of Aug. 31, 2017 Those funds will be spent in the 2018 fiscal year. The report provides a breakdown of funding for 29 agencies and ministries, along with a detailed report on the 4,309 donor households who contributed as members of giving societies.
The use of donations from the 2016 Partners in Charity appeal are detailed in the FY2017 report on financial activities. Partners in Charity had $4,870,191 in revenue and used $4,958,077 to fund ministries and programs.
The annual report has been sent to parishes for distribution at Masses. It also is posted online at worcesterdiocese.org/fiscal-affairs.
A complete copy of the audited annual report prepared by O’Connor, Maloney & Company, P.C. is available online at worcesterdiocese.org/fiscal-affairs.