Church surplus down as parish collections fall

Dwindling parish collections have dented the Archdiocese of Malta's fiscal surplus in 2005, statistics released yesterday show.

The net surplus for the year ending 2005 was Lm109,395, down from the Lm187,110 recorded the previous year. However, the Church's fixed assets value reached Lm63.7 million, up from Lm56.8 million in 2004.

During a news conference, Pastoral Secretary Fr Charles Cordina said there was no reason why the Church should sound the alarm bells for the time being, since he always believed in people's generosity.

Parish collections in 2005 were down by Lm26,000 compared to the previous year, bringing the total to Lm1.6 million.

Financial controller Robert Agius said that the figure of Church collections has been declining gradually in the last two to three years, a far cry from the mid 1990s when there was a yearly increase of five to 10 per cent.

The Church authorities are also quite preoccupied with the impact of the euro changeover since this could signal a reduction in Mass donations.

The fiscal accounts do not provide a snapshot of the Church's entire financial situation since they exclude religious orders and the schools they run.

Forty five per cent of the Church's revenue is routed through donations and collections, reaching Lm4.26 million. Thirty per cent of revenue is derived from investments and 11 per cent from the old people's homes.

Maintenance and administration account for 45 per cent of expenses, totalling Lm4.27 million, while payments to lay people reached Lm3.62 million. Payment on feasts increased by Lm9,000 in a year.

The accounts received a fiscal injection thanks to an increase in contributions to Dar Tal-Providenza of Lm500,000 following an appeal for funds last year.

Other Church entities, like old people's homes and the Media Centre are, however, still running at a deficit.

Mr Agius said there were several Church entities which were requesting financial assistance because they could not keep up with expenses.

The Curia's media sections shared a subsidy of Lm113,000 while the foundation for theology studies was subsidised at Lm65,000. In total, the Church dished out Lm342,000 in subsidies.

Fr Cordina admitted that the Church was dealt a blow in fund raising activities since several other entities had now embarked on similar initiatives.