Bishop Sheridan addresses economy in Herald

Below is Bishop Sheridan's Jan. 2 Herald column, in which he gives an update on the economic situation of the diocese.

It seems like yesterday that our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI was visiting us and that dozens of Catholics from the diocese were traveling with me half way across the world to Sydney, Australia, for World Youth Day. It was a year of many blessings but also of many trials.

As we cross the threshold of the year 2009, we realize all too well that this will be a year of ongoing financial struggles for all of us. It may be more difficult this year to muster up the enthusiasm to greet people with the usual “Happy New Year.” Can we realistically expect a happy new year?

Each day I hear of another crisis confronting someone in our diocese. Jobs and homes are being lost at an ever increasing rate. Our savings and our retirement accounts are in serious jeopardy. Many of you are experiencing real concern over your future and your ability to provide for your families. And we have every reason to believe that this economic downturn will continue for months — if not years — to come.

Each of our parishes and the offices of the diocesan administration and Catholic Charities are experiencing these very same crises and concerns. For the last several weeks I have been meeting regularly with our department heads in order to find a way to navigate through the troubled times ahead. We have seen a 3 percent loss in parish offertories already. This seriously impacts our ability to provide necessary services and resources to our parishes and to those in need. Add to that the $700,000 loss of our investment principal and its attendant income stream, and it means that we have experienced a loss of more than $1 million in the first six months of this fiscal year. And things will likely not be improving for some time.

At the diocesan level we have enacted immediate measures to help see us through the remainder of this fiscal year. We have pledged to cut our expenses by 20 percent in the next fiscal year. Because almost all of our expenses are for personnel, this means that we may have to lay off some of our valued employees. This is not a happy prospect for me. Not only are we at the Catholic Pastoral Center very much a family, but the loss of personnel will inevitably mean a decrease in services throughout the diocese.

There are many people to blame for the situation in which we find ourselves. Much of that blame rightly goes to government and corporate leaders. Some of the blame must be borne by consumers who spent recklessly, only to find themselves with debts that are overwhelming. (There is a reason that greed is one of the seven capital [deadly] sins.) But it is to the countless vulnerable and innocent victims of this financial crisis that our hearts go out.

And so, can we really have a happy new year? In spite of everything I am convinced that we can. I say this not out of any mindless optimism. I say it because I am a Christian, and I firmly believe that our happiness is not to be found in money or possessions or in anything of this world.

How often have we heard or read these words of the Lord: “Do not store up for yourselves an earthly treasure. Moths and rust corrode; thieves break in and steal. Make it your practice instead to store up heavenly treasure, which neither moths nor
rust corrode nor thieves break in and steal. Remember, where your treasure is, there your heart is also” (Mt 6:19-21).

That teaching no longer sounds like a theoretical piece of advice. These times require that each of us reevaluates his or her priorities and our most fundamental beliefs. I don’t easily ascribe the evils that we experience to God’s direct causality. But I cannot forget that throughout the history of God’s relationship with His people, He did indeed visit sufferings on them, precisely to bring them to their senses. Let’s not be too quick to disregard the possibility that God is using these financial woes to show us the evils of materialism and to call all of us to a renewal of faith and hope in Him.

Jesus told us that, if we are to be His disciples, we must take up our crosses each day and follow after Him. Redemptive suffering is part and parcel of authentic discipleship. Our secular culture tries to convince us that suffering has no place in the lives of any of us. To the extent that we have bought into this fateful message of the world, we will find it very difficult to hope in these trying times.

The Gospel never promised us that we would not suffer.What the Gospel does tell us is that our sufferings are also the sufferings of the Son of God. Our hope is to be found in Him who has endured all our sufferings. If there is any good to be found in these grim times, it is the opportunity to recognize what is really important in life and to thank God for the many blessings that He has given us.

It is important to remember that with every crisis comes opportunity. Perhaps we can use these times to strengthen or re-establish our sense of local community. There are many opportunities to perform corporal and spiritual works of mercy, whether it be donating goods to the Marian House, providing a meal or financial assistance to a neighbor or encouraging those around you to return to the practice of the faith.

Please know that I pray for each one of you and for our country. I am especially grateful to our clergy who are faced with serious financial challenges in their parishes and yet continue to be signs of faith and hope. I am very grateful also to all those who, even as they suffer their own financial losses, nevertheless continue to support the works of the church. And, together with you, I am always grateful to God who never abandons us.

May this new year be filled with happiness and joy!