Open Books, Open Doors

When I was Board Chair at Seton-La Salle High School, one of the first things we did was open the financial books to board members in a meaningful way. Not a summary. Not a highlight reel. The actual numbers — revenues, expenses, debt, reserves, projections. Everything.

Some people were uncomfortable with that level of transparency. The concern was that board members without financial backgrounds might misunderstand the numbers, or that full disclosure could create anxiety. But the opposite happened. When people could see the real picture, they became better partners. They fundraised more effectively. They made smarter decisions. They trusted the institution more, not less.

This experience shapes how I think about financial transparency in the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

CCOC's Financial Transparency focus group, coordinated by Jan Hayes and John Pillar, has been studying diocesan financial practices since our founding. The core question is straightforward: do the Catholics who fund this institution through their weekly offertory have a meaningful window into how that money is used?

The answer is: partially.

The diocese publishes an annual financial report. That's good. But the level of detail varies, and the mechanisms for laypeople to ask questions or raise concerns are limited. Individual parishes have finance councils, but the authority and effectiveness of those councils depends heavily on the pastor. Some are robust. Others are rubber stamps.

The Grand Jury Report exposed, among many things, a financial dimension to the abuse crisis. Settlement payments, legal fees, and the shuffling of accused priests created costs that were borne by the faithful, often without their knowledge. The Attorney General's investigation into whether the Diocese of Pittsburgh could use an orphanage endowment to pay abuse settlements underscored just how tangled the finances had become.

Financial transparency isn't about suspicion. It's about partnership. When parishioners understand where their money goes — how much supports the school, how much maintains the building, how much goes to the diocese — they give more generously and more consistently. Study after study confirms this. Transparency drives generosity. Opacity drives disengagement.

Here's what I'd like to see in our diocese:

First, standardized financial reporting for all parishes, with enough detail for an informed parishioner to understand the fiscal health of their community. Not just income and expenses, but assets, liabilities, and any obligations to the broader diocese.

Second, genuine authority for parish finance councils — not advisory, but fiduciary. These councils should review budgets, approve major expenditures, and have the standing to raise concerns.

Third, an annual diocesan transparency forum — open to all Catholics — where financial leaders present the diocese's fiscal position and take questions from the floor.

None of this is radical. It's what every well-run nonprofit does. The Catholic Church is not a nonprofit, but it shares the same obligation to its supporters: if you ask people to give, you owe them an honest accounting.

Lent begins next week. A season of examination. Let's examine our books, too.