Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2009 / Archdiocese announces restructuring plan
Archdiocese announces restructuring plan
by Marylynn G. Hewitt, SFO of The Michigan Catholic
Published September 18, 2009
Detroit - A major financial restructuring plan for the Archdiocese of Detroit, which is losing approximately $42,000 per day, calls for a 29-percent decrease in positions, from 264 to 187; the sale of buildings; and moving administrative support offices to a more cost-efficient property in the city.
The subsidy for The Michigan Catholic has been eliminated and no further information has been announced. In addition, the six-county archdiocese will be reorganized into four regions for the regional delivery of programs, services and ministries for its 1.4 million Catholics.
Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron announced Sept. 3 that he accepted the restructuring recommendations from two separate committees, comprised of lay people and clergy, he commissioned for a six-month study on the financial viability of the archdiocese.
"The financial realities of our current circumstances are sobering; the resulting changes for the administrative structure of the archdiocese are significant," said the archbishop, who was installed Jan. 28.
Other changes include the elimination of the subsidy for programming at The Retreat Center at St. John's, the sale of the Print Shop building and the outsourcing of studio productions for the Catholic Television Network of Detroit. The Gabriel Richard building, down the street from the Chancery and the workplace for 112 archdiocesan employees and the Catholic Youth Organization, will also be sold.
After receiving the recommendations, the archbishop conferred with the Archdiocesan Finance Council and the College of Consultors, the priest council of advisors on administrative and financial issues. Then, after prayer and reflection, Archbishop Vigneron accepted the recommendations. "I believe the committee members have crafted a response that is true to and advances the mission I asked them to consider in their deliberations: 'To share Christ in and through the Church,'" he said.
Currently, the archdiocese loses approximately $1.2 million in cash each month. In the fiscal year 2008-09, the archdiocese lost $14.5 million in cash. The recommendations were designed to keep the archdiocese "cash neutral," and without it, the archdiocese faced exhausting its cash supply by 2011.
The Detroit area has been one of the hardest hit by the faltering economy with the world headquarters of each of the Big 3 automakers - Ford, Chrysler and General Motors Corp. - all within the confines of the archdiocese.
Ned McGrath, director of communications for the archdiocese, cited a confluence of circumstances that brought the cash crunch to a head. "Our investment portfolio took major hits in 2001 and 2008," he said. "Additionally, we had property investments that 'under-performed' and hurt, rather than helped, the bottom line." Beyond coping with increased expenditures for operations and benefits, McGrath said, the archdiocese also had to deal with rising costs for a number of major construction projects started in the last decade.
In a letter to priests in the archdiocese, Archbishop Vigneron said the current employees "remain a dedicated, devoted work force supporting my ministry, the parishes and the presence of the Church in the archdiocese - all for the glory of Christ. They have my heartfelt gratitude and appreciation."
New job descriptions will be created for the remaining positions and current staff members will be considered for them. The goal is to have final selections made in mid-November with the new organizational operation in place by the beginning of 2010. Job placement workshops and incentives for those eligible for retirement will also be offered.
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