Financial Rebuilding

While the archdiocese of Boston's $46 million operating deficit -- said to be the largest in the history of American Catholicism -- has made a lot of tongues wag the last few days, did you know that the archdiocese of New Orleans is running $1 million-a-month in the red as it rebuilds from Hurricane Katrina?

As if that wasn't staggering enough, the monthly figure is on top of an $86 million discrepancy between what the archdiocese will get from insurance and the actual amount of the storm's damage.

As Fr Bill Maestri, the archdiocesan spokesman, put it:

[T]here's always a tension between mission and money. The archdiocese is now operating on the side of mission.

It's very important for the church, at this particular time, to be present to people educationally, sacramentally, pastorally, and with social services. We are operating at a $1-million-a-month deficit.

This should answer the question of whether they're out in the woods just yet....

Great piece on the Big Easy's religious rebuilding from The Newshour, with video.

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