Archdiocese over Lm555,000 in the red

The Malta Archdiocese last year lost Lm555,030 on its operations as a result of lower revenue from collections and donations, coupled with rising wages and maintenance costs.

The growing shortfall faced by the archdiocese meant the Church in Malta would have to consider the priorities of its pastoral work, pastoral secretary Charles Cordina said yesterday.

Most of the Church's work used to be carried out by priests or other religious persons, whose remuneration for the services they gave was minimal, or by a large number of volunteers who gave long hours of service with dedication and free of charge.

However, there had been a drop in the number of people taking up vocations and in the number of volunteers because of ever-growing family and social commitments.

Fr Cordina said it was being proposed that certain services, relating to evangelisation, formation and solidarity, were necessary in pastoral work. These, however, meant higher costs.

Big expenses were also forecast in the repair and restoration of churches and other old buildings owned by the Church, which were part of the country's cultural heritage. More pastoral centres might also be required where new houses were built at a distance from the parishes.

Fr Cordina said the Church was encouraging the Maltese to remain generous in their contributions because this made it possible for the Church to continue spreading the word of God and to courageously implement its pastoral work.

Speaking at a news conference yesterday, Fr Cordina said that in 2001 the diocese had a balance of Lm205,617. It also had a capital profit of Lm1.6 million from liquidated investment.

The losses for 2002 were the result of a Lm215,586 drop in collections and donations over the previous year, an increase of Lm347,282 in the wage bill. Normal maintenance expenses also rose by Lm387,742. Tax payments reached Lm385,940.

There were small increases in revenue from property, fees and the sale of printing material.

Parishes spent Lm178,465 on parish feasts but they only generated an income for this purpose of Lm157,436.

The income from services given by the Church in marriages, baptisms and funerals amounted to Lm56,240, representing 0.66 per cent of the total income.

Income from fund-raising held throughout the year, although increasing from year to year, remained a small portion of the total income of the archdiocese. It reached Lm226,370, representing 2.6 per cent of the total income of the archdiocese.

The archdiocese's biggest source of income was investments, collections and donations.

Income from APS Bank was encouraging at Lm149,940, and this helped to sustain part of the expenses carried out by the archdiocese.

Because of this, and in view of the current financial reality at the archdiocese, it was decided that it was not yet time for the Church to take steps to reduce its shareholding in the bank.

It was also decided that the archdiocese would increase its capital in the bank.

Fr Cordina said that collections and donations amounted to Lm3.9 million in 2002, against Lm4.1 million in 2001. These collections and donations, which included wills, were mainly from parishes and Dar tal-Providenza.

The biggest expense of the archdiocese were the wages of lay employees, which reached Lm3.16 million, together with the remuneration of priests which stood at Lm1.1 million.

Other big expenses in new projects and repairs reached Lm2.21 million, while the expenses for everyday needs reached Lm1.73 million.

When it came to parishes, although there was a slight increase of three per cent from collections and donations, there was also an increase in the operational expenses of nearly 11 per cent that led to parishes spending more than they earned.

In fact, all the expenses of the parish, including those of the Cathedral and the Chapter, reached nearly Lm3 million, of which Lm151,244 was spent on sexton and other employees and Lm95,713 on services given by priests in parishes.

Parishes gave Lm68,260 to charity, missions and schools. They also paid Lm122,588 in income tax.

Fr Cordina said the accounts included those of the central fund, the finance section, homes for children and the elderly, the seminary, the media centre and RTK, Dar tal-Providenza, monasteries and other small entities.

Only the monasteries and media activities made a profit, though expenses to maintain the old monasteries were high.

Although the capital base of the archdiocese was Lm54 million, Lm40.6 million was tied-up capital.

A full report of the accounts may be obtained from the administration office at the Curia in Floriana.