Pope John XXIII famously answered when asked how many people worked at the Vatican, About half.
The Church is honeycombed with useless people performing, at best, useless tasks, at worst actively harmful to spreading the Gospel. In this country our Bishops have proven themselves completely inept in communications since Bishop Sheen went off the air. When they tried to get their claws on EWTN Mother Angelica announced that she would blow it up rather than let that happen. The current state of Church communications is to be mourned rather than celebrated.
Diocesan publications I’ve held in my hands are insipid and should be discontinued.
The number of parishes and missions in a typical diocese is few enough that a bishop should be able to manage a biennial visit to each, but you just never see them. Twenty years ago, there might have been 140 active priests in a typical diocese. You make 30 assignments a year, so that’s not too time consuming. You could have a comptroller core with field accountants who would produce financial statements for clusters of parishes; that would save some labor at the parish level and inhibit embezzlement. Other than the vocations director and people you have to put on ice, I can’t see much justification for having clergy or religious working in the chancery. You need an IT staff in this day and age. You’d benefit from people who audit physical plant, the goings on at Catholic schools, liturgical practice, CCD programs, and various charitable activities. You benefit from fundraisers. Other than the fundraisers, have you ever encountered anyone from the chancery doing these tasks?
I’d venture that at the top of the list of useless people are those who conceived of the Church celebrating a “World Communications Day.”
From an article announcing it:
“Speaking the truth “means giving ‘a reason for your hope’ and doing so gently, using the gift of communication as a bridge and not as a wall,” the Vatican said Sept. 29 when it announced the theme of World Communications Day 2023.”
Gently, like the hierarchy in the Vatican has been modelling towards traditional Catholics and their inspiring work in building all those bridges by shutting down TLM masses. I realize, of course, that nothing is more gentle than calling people backwardists and accusing them of having a mind disease of nostalgia. Where do I donate?
Make sure you respond to the request with a note in the envelope telling them why you will not support subversion & a lack of clear catholic teaching….
Fr J and Jason.
Local Pregnancy centers receiving new ultrasound systems are saving babies. Supporting their efforts and helping single parent mothers receive essentials for their new baby is a worthy cause. No guessing whether or not your contributions are supporting efforts to help pro-life efforts or providing dollars to spread contraceptives across Africa. NGO’S that sterilize people or provide aborticifants for women under the guise of reproductive health care need not a penny from any Catholic organization, imho. Feed the poor. Yes. Kill their children. No thanks.
Your a Catholic organization using my donations??
https://www.lepantoin.org/wp/fia/
H E toothpick x2 NO
About CCHD even a priest from the pulpit said not to donate as the fund gives to ACORN (not the Brit TV ACORN). Now Catholic Charities is working with the illegals never minding their association with traffickers,
It’s enough to make me ashamed to admit I was ever a Catholic journalist for a diocesan newspaper – a job I dearly loved at the time. Not the communications flackery aspect but being able to talk to ordinary people about their faith and what it meant to them.