Despite reductions in most departments, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis remains committed to serving Catholics and the greater community. The following narrative explains the function of each department and the funding level for FY 2015.
Catholic Education – $2,393,136
June 30 of 2015 saw the close of the Office of Catholic Schools (OCS) and the transition to the Office for the Mission of Catholic Education. The OCS supported the education and formation of children at Catholic schools within the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. The support included Catholic identity review and support, leadership development and assistance in implementing academic programs. The OCS also provided programmatic oversight to promote innovation and excellence in local urban Catholic schools. The new Office for the Mission of Catholic Education continues those functions with a new emphasis on forming a new generation of Catholic students while teaming up with the newly-formed Catholic Schools Center of Excellence and other private partners.
Central Services – $5,665,950
The Department of Central Services provides support and services to the archdiocesan staff and the parishes. The department includes the offices of the chancellors of civil and canonical affairs, computer services, the Metropolitan Tribunal, human resources and benefits, the Parish Accounting Services Center and maintenance. Also covered in this category are administrative services to the General Insurance Program, the lay and priest pension funds, and the Archdiocese Medical Benefit Plan Trust, as well as dues to the Minnesota Catholic Conference and the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Clergy Services – $4,984,442
The role of this office is to provide support and formation for priests and deacons in all aspects of ministry and pastoral care. Services provided by this office include the following:
Seminary Formation: There are currently 52 men in formation for the priesthood for service in our Archdiocese. While the number changes throughout the discernment process, our Archdiocese has one of the largest enrollments of seminarians of any diocese in the country. Expenses include a portion of the cost of tuition, room and board for men at The St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity and St. John Vianney College Seminary.
Center for Clergy Formation: The Institute of Ongoing Formation for Clergy and the Institute of Diaconate Formation comprise the Center for Clergy Formation. Each entity of the center provides an integrated approach to priestly and diaconate formation, including gatherings and support for newly ordained priests, programs to assist new pastors in their role, and ongoing formation opportunities for priests and deacons throughout the Archdiocese.
Continuing Education: This includes continuing education opportunities, a sabbatical program, international enculturation and a biennial presbyteral assembly.
Ministerial Standards and Safe Environment: The mission of the Office of Ministerial Standards and Safe Environment is to work with our community to address the devastating societal problem of the sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults by implementing abuse prevention programs, immediately reporting allegations of abuse to law enforcement and/or child/adult protection officials and cooperating fully with their investigations, and helping those affected by abuse in their healing journey.
Priest Support: This includes support for priests who are not in ministry due to personal health issues or a disciplinary leave of absence and those who have been permanently removed from ministry.
Chaplaincies: There are 22 priests and 19 deacons in full or part-time ministry at hospitals and correctional facilities throughout the Archdiocese who are supported by the Archdiocese. There are many other priests and deacons throughout the Archdiocese who provide pastoral care at health care or correctional facilities, either as a ministry of their parish or through volunteer work. They offer the sacraments and spiritual support during some of the most difficult times in peoples’ lives. Last year, thousands of people throughout our community were served by chaplains.
Specialized Ministries: This includes the Office of Vocations, support for international clergy, and retired clergy.
Communications – $2,238,271
The Office of Communications helps convey the teachings of the Church and fosters communications between the Archdiocese and the faithful, parish and school leaders and staff, and others in our community. It does this through The Catholic Spirit, multiple websites, social media, e-newsletters, printing services and other communications. The office also conducts media training for clergy and other representatives of the Archdiocese, and works with secular TV and radio stations, as well as print and online publications.
Community Services – $225,000
The Archdiocese helps men, women and children most in need within our local community, including the poor, hungry and homeless, primarily through cash support to Catholic Charities.
Evangelization and Catechesis – $535,580
The Office of Evangelization and Catechesis was established in 2014 to help create opportunities for people to encounter Jesus Christ and to make the truth of Christ and his Church clearly understood and accessible. Evangelization and catechesis efforts are created and experienced in cooperation with parishes and Catholic schools and the many ministry groups throughout this local Church.
Marriage, Family and Life – $888,429
This department assists the laity and parishes through programs supporting marriage preparation, family education programming, respect life, pro-life groups, biomedical ethics, and outreach for people with disabilities.
The office of Marriage, Family and Life also sponsors the annual Archdiocesan Youth Day that brings together hundreds of local high school-aged teens to praise God, grow in the faith and find fellowship. In addition, this office helps coordinate local representatives attending World Youth Day, the National Catholic Youth Conference and other youth events.
Parish Services and Outreach – $1,990,116
The Office of Parish Services provides consultation, planning, and leadership development opportunities to parishes throughout the Archdiocese.
The Archdiocese supports outreach ministry to various groups and members of the archdiocesan community, including Latino ministry, Indian ministry, the Commission on Black Catholics, the Venezuelan mission, the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women, deaf ministry, and other groups and coalitions.
For example, there are more than 20 Latino ministry parishes throughout the Archdiocese that receive support from the Office of Latino Ministry. These Latino ministry parishes offer the sacraments, catechesis and spiritual support to tens of thousands of Spanish-speaking people throughout the local Church. The Office of Latino Ministry also oversees special days of celebration of the faith and family throughout the year. In addition, biblical, catechetical and pastoral leadership formation institutes are provided for members of the Latino community to assist them in growing in the faith.
Support Services
General and Administrative – $3,415,146
The offices of the archbishop, retired archbishop, bishops, vicar general, accounting, finance and general administration are included in the General and Administrative category. Over half of this category of expense supports salaries and benefits of staff. Also included are expenses incurred as part of the staff reductions, non-bankruptcy related legal fees, and bad debt expense.
Development and Stewardship – $611,132
This office works with parishes and Catholic schools to help grow a culture of stewardship in local communities and to support parish and school development efforts. The office also engages in outreach to benefactors who wish to support specific ministries or programs of the Chancery Corporation.
