Cardinal updates priests on TIF,
clergy issues, finances
Robert Delaney of the Michigan Catholic
Published February 10, 2006
Detroit – News of an added step in the Together in Faith process, an update on clergy issues, and information about archdiocesan financial matters were communicated to archdiocese priests in a Feb. 2 letter from Cardinal Adam Maida.
He said a final consultation between the vicariates and the Together in Faith Coordinating Committee was under way as the process of developing a strategic pastoral plan for the future of the Archdiocese of Detroit moves forward.
"This third opportunity for dialogue was inserted into the process to ensure accuracy and to allow maximum input and perspective before final decisions and announcements," Cardinal Maida wrote.
The additional consultation had been recommended by the archdiocesan Council of Vicars, whose members include the priests who head up the 18 vicariates into which the archdiocese is divided, and the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council, the archdiocesan consultative body that represents the laity.
The cardinal wrote that he expected the Coordinating Committee's recommendations to "mirror, for the most part, what the vicariates have submitted."
Those recommendations, expected at the beginning of March, would then be reviewed by the cardinal and the regional bishops, and there would be opportunities for priests to offer input at future Council of Vicars and Presbyteral Council meetings, he continued. The Presbyteral Council is the consultative body that represents archdiocesan priests.
Once the final pastoral plan is approved by the cardinal, it will be shared with the Council of Vicars before it is released to the news media and to the wider Catholic community, he added.
As the TIF Coordinating Committee nears the end of its work, Cardinal Maida wrote that the new TIF Tracking Committee would begin meeting in April, and that this new committee would be monitoring and coordination of the implementation of the archdiocesan pastoral plan and the Total Pastoral Plan for Priests.
The priests' plan, which was developed in response to issues raised at the biennial priests' convocation in Boyne, addresses issues such as health and overwork in order to prevent situations that lead to illness or "burnout."
Regarding financial issues, Cardinal Maida addressed two archdiocesan investments about which questions had been raised – the former St. John's Provincial Seminary property in Plymouth Township and the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington D.C.
The cultural center, situated near the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, was developed as both a Catholic museum for visitors to the nation's capital and as a center for the study of issues that were matters of concern during the late pope's pontificate.
The archdiocesan financial commitment to the center has taken two forms – a $23 million bank loan drawn by the center, but secured by the archdiocese, and a direct loan by the archdiocese of $17 million.
"These two investments are secured by the assets of the center, including its property, which is mortgage free," the cardinal wrote.
He added that the center's board of directors would be meeting in coming weeks to consider refocusing elements of the center's mission. "Development, program and finance committees are being reconstituted to advise the board how the center can best sustain itself as a Washington-based institution," the cardinal wrote.
Turning to the St. John's property, Cardinal Maida wrote that the archdiocese invested $30 million to renovate the former seminary's main building and to update an expand the main building and to upgrade and expand the golf course to 27 holes. But he added that "no archdiocesan funds were used to construct the new hotel on the property; the project was entirely funded by private investors, who have asked to remain anonymous."
The revenue from the conference and hospitality facilities, as well as from the new hotel, will subsidize the retreat center there, he wrote.
"The total worth of this asset – the entire complex – is far in excess of the archdiocesan investment," the cardinal added.
"As a Church, we face many challenges and opportunities. With faith in God and prayers for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I am convinced that – Together in Faith – our local Church will journey with renewed energy, vision and hope into the future," Cardinal Maida concluded.
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