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Awareness of the new financial situations within the Religious Institutes and of the economic context in which we find ourselves

Without doubt there are new elements in the financial management of Congregations and in the economic context of the society that surrounds us. Here are a few:

16. There are many new situations as regards the acquisition, administration and allocation of assets: the trend towards and need for capitalisation; the breakdown of assets between religious communities and their works;, changes in administrative structures; recourse to public funds (BOT, CCT); a new emphasis on pension funds and health insurance; the reflection on how much importance we place on Providence; the new relationship between the economy and poverty; transparency in the financial management of religious communities and of our works, Provinces and Institutes; diversification in sources of funding; the creation of funds destined to provide aid; portfolio management; the new Canon Law regulations (1983) concerning administration of assets; decentralisation of decision-making processes so that in some Institutes financial decisions are mainly made at provincial level and intervention by the General Government is extremely limited... The phenomenon of inculturation has meant that the economic situation of religious varies greatly from one place to another; cultures have an influence on attitudes to money and, in practical terms, on ways of managing it.

17.      Special emphasis must be given to the recently expressed need for a greater sharing of information about assets and of the assets themselves, within each Institute and with the various members of society, especially the poor and, in some cultures, with the families of the religious. A great many ways are employed to meet this need.

18.      There is an ever more apparent need to pay greater attention to those responsible for who control and manage assets: the religious treasurers. They must be given a clearer profile of the attributes required and there must be a better job description for the mission of the General or Provincial Treasurer and the new functions these people carry out in the overall progress of the path chosen by a Religious Institute today: they must be trained in finance and in social justice, and must be concerned with meeting the demands of religious poverty. We must also pay attention to teams of consultants to manage our finances, and to the provincial or general councils whose task it is to establish the economic policies of the Religious Institutes. How can they be prepared to take the decisions that must be made in this field? What is the Treasurer’s responsibility within the general government’s team? How can we interest the religious in the Congregation or the Province in the subject of finance and make them give it the consideration due to it?

If, on the one hand, those who establish economic policies and those who take the decisions pertaining to those policies need training, or at least systematic and more accurate information, on the other, it would be useful for all religious to have access to regular information of a general nature that will help them be properly aware of their own group’s financial situation. In many religious institutes the Treasurers, especially General and Provincial Treasurers, are playing a more important role; they not only implement what others have decided but are involved in the decisions being taken in the Councils.

19.      There are religious provinces or Congregations that already rely more on profits and interest on their investments than on the income or salaries the religious receive for their work. This is a new way of acquiring money and resources that may have important consequences and will certainly make us think about the way in which our assets are produced. It is obvious that over the centuries great changes have taken place in this field. In general, we can say that our assets today come partly from donations, partly from our work, from income related to our activities, and in part from interest on capital. What is the policy we should pursue? There is no doubt that there have been great changes in the income of religious institutes in recent years.

20.      The new foundations, generally those in developing countries or in outlying areas of the northern hemisphere, are not self-sufficient enough to carry on their work and meet the ordinary needs of the religious or of the groups, and it is impossible to see how they can succeed in the short term. Undoubtedly, the new missionary fronts are having an effect on the economy of the Religious Institutes. What can be done in the face of such a situation? Reduce the costs of these foundations? Continue to help them free of charge? Do only what our finances will support? Furthermore, in the First World, the average age of religious is rising whilst their number is diminishing, with the result that financial resources are also decreasing and there is less that can be given for the common good. It is a certain fact that where there is paid work there are not many religious who can do it, and where there are a lot of religious paid work is scarce and in fact there is hardly enough income for the works being achieved.

21.      Work done by religious has a legal and accounting value as soon as they begin to earn a salary, to have pensions and health cover; the working situation of the religious is now on the same footing as that of laymen. This is an innovation with a significant effect on the economy of the Religious Institutes.

22.      In the financial management of Religious Institutes, the criterion and the demands of justice are having important repercussions on our financial management and on those directly responsible for our economy. It is almost superfluous to say that a religious treasurer must possess great social sensitivity to be able to administrate the assets of the religious properly; the same goes for a General or Provincial Council.

23.      The phenomenon of capitalisation is a new element in religious life. There are a wide variety of criteria in this regard and sometimes no little confusion. What direction should we take?