Bill's Failure to Pass May Have Saved Some Bay State Churches
by Ed Thomas
February 3, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Churches in Massachusetts will not have to make public reports of their finances to the state, thanks to the defeat of a proposed measure in the Bay State's House of Representatives last week. The bill had been proposed in the heated atmosphere of the Catholic Church's priest sex abuse scandals last year and was passed by the State Senate in November. If the legislation had passed the state House, it would have required Massachusetts churches with annual budgets between $100,000 and $500,000 to file annual audits. Among the supporters of the measure was State Senator Marian Walsh, who was quoted in the Sentinel & Enterprise newspaper as saying the bill would have "righted a wrong."
Walsh's remark referred to the closing of many Roman Catholic parishes by the Boston Archdiocese in an effort to balance its budget after numerous disbursements in payment of settlements related to the priest sex abuse scandals. Many who doubted the necessity of the closings wanted a way to force open the financial statements of the archdiocese.
But Don Long, pastor of Faith Christian Ministries in Fitchburg, says a majority of church leaders and even legislators felt such required financial disclosure fell into the dangerous territory of infringing on privacy or even violating the separation of church and state.
"Once you open the door there," Long muses, "what's the next thing? And, eventually, are you going to be required to give a list of individual donors and how much they give?" While Protestant churches have traditionally been fairly open already about giving financial statements to church members, Long is concerned that forcing church members' contributions into the public record could set a questionable legal precedent.
"And, of course, as for any donor who's tithing, for example, and declaring that on their income tax, you certainly have to have that documented," the minister notes. "You have to keep records for that. Should that be part of the public domain? I don't think so."
Long believes it the suspicious atmosphere created by the sex abuse scandals that have plagued the Catholic Church -- and the Boston Diocese in particular -- is what very nearly led to the passage of a law forcing the state's larger churches to declare their financial records publicly. While that suspicion is understandable, he feels the defeat of the legislation may have been for the best.
The annual audits that would have mandated by the proposed state law would potentially have cost churches between $5,000 and $10,000. Long says that figure could have caused many churches even more financial hardship than they were already experiencing, and could well have forced some to close their doors once and for all.
Ed Thomas, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
