The parishes have to find a way to cover their own expenses as we cut back on the grants. The Archdiocese of Chicago is developing cost-reduction plans, although it has no plans to sell real estate assets. The church income comes from donations, fees for services such as tuition, and from its investments, which are handled by professional money managers who are supervised by a finance committee, as in most major institutions. Cutbacks in government reimbursements to Catholic hospitals that serve the poor have hurt the church's financial picture. But the cardinal stresses that that's not the answer to the financial problems.
People give money, and expect it to be handled responsibly, of course.
We get very good advice. But the economic outlook concerns us. We're not outside the economy. We have to pay salaries, especially to lay teachers. We have to buy clothing, food, pay electric bills.