Catholic church facing financial problems

A prominent Catholic church in Yuma is in deep financial trouble, but is in no danger of closing, according to its pastor and the Tucson Diocese.

“This is by no means a dire financial crisis, but it is certainly serious,” said Fred Allison, director of the Office of Communication for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson. “The diocese has been well aware of this.”

“Everything will continue with our operations and ministries,” said Father Javier Perez of Immaculate Conception Church. “These are challenging times.”

Early last month, after his retirement, Monsignor Richard O'Keeffe wrote an emotional letter to the congregation expressing his concern over the parish's financial situation and took full responsibility for it.

O'Keeffe, who retired after 38 years as pastor, wrote that the church's level of debt over the years had risen from being sustainable to nearly half a million dollars now, adding he had not been as strict with the parish's budget as he should have been.

“Regrets? Yes, I do have regrets, things that I know I could have done better, things that I did were guided more by my heart than by my head,” O'Keeffe wrote in his letter. “I had allowed spending — for good and necessary things — beyond our resources.”

Allison explained that each parish is responsible for being self-sustaining and that Immaculate Conception's debt is to the Diocese of Tucson, from which it had been borrowing money.

“The parish, over the years had deficits and it continued to grow,” Allison said. “(O'Keeffe) was doing what he thought was right, and that was helping people.”

Allison confirmed that the church's finances have been audited on a regular basis and that there had been no irregularities or inappropriate spending.

“The root causes of the growing debt were my ingrained optimism and confidence and my desire to help people,” O'Keeffe wrote.

Although he didn't know the specific amounts, Allison said a large portion of the debt money was used to help poor families pay for tuition at the two schools associated to the church: Immaculate Conception Elementary School and Yuma Catholic High School.

O'Keeffe also included in his letter how much it pained him to know he had disappointed the congregation and that the last thing he wanted to ever do was leave the church's new pastor with a huge debt.

In a letter that Perez read to the congregation on Aug. 12 in response to O'Keeffe's, he said he had been working with the board of directors, along with the finance and pastoral councils since his arrival to reduce the debt while maintaining the parish's ministries and services.

When contacted by the Yuma Sun, Perez said the church's board of directors has approved a plan to reduce the debt. A short-term financial plan for meeting operational requirements will be developed, the fiscal year 2011 budget will be revised and a strategic plan developed for defraying the long-term liabilities.

Perez said he has made some tough budget decisions already.

“My heart breaks because I had to let two employees go because we could not afford their salaries. Also, two of our Franciscan sisters have agreed to work without any compensation.”

In the meantime, Perez said he has been having monthly meetings with the church's staff, the finance council and the parish council to find ways to minimize expenses and improve revenues.

Some of the ways, Perez said, are changing the light bulbs in the church, rectory, convent, school and Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission to energy-saving bulbs; being more conservative when using the air conditioner; and turning off lights that aren't being used.

Another approach being taken is only buying what is necessary for the operation of the church and school. These changes, Perez said, will save the church about $100,000 a year.

In his letter, Perez also explained that the remodeling going on at the church and school has been funded by special grants by church members to the Capital Campaign and the Annual Catholic Appeal.

Perez also said he intended to keep members informed about the church's financial situation on a quarterly basis.

James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun or 539-6854.