Thomas Reese reports on efforts to reform the Vatican Bank Institute of Religious Works and makes a point that may take away the entire premise of the church’s social teaching:
No one enters the seminary with the desire to someday be in charge of church finances. Rather, seminarians want to become pastors. Seminaries also do not do a good job training their students to handle church finances. Priests who do develop expertise in church finances do so on the job. It would be extremely rare to find a priest who took an accounting course, let alone one who has an MBA.
As a result, most priests do not understand basic financial practices. They don’t know the right questions, let alone the right answers. At the same time, clericalism means that they have to be in charge of everything. Even if they want to delegate these financial responsibilities to laypeople, they do not know enough to appoint competent people. The temptation is to appoint someone who is deferential or appears pious and trustworthy.
Granted their ignorance of finances, it is no surprise that priests do not do a good job managing church finances.
Do seminarians receive training in international relations, political science, or public health? Why draw the line with finances? After all, when Roman Catholics have a health problem, they go to a physician (for the most part — there is Lourdes after all) not to a priest doctor. And if they have a legal problem, they hire an attorney, not a priest or bishop. So why draw the line with priests? And if priests are ill-equipped to teach in an informed way about society’s problem, how about the bishops? Do they have to study for a Ph.D. in world studies before being promoted? So why do church officials feel compelled to speak what seems like all the time about the news? Isn’t the point of modernity and the differentiation of human existence according to diverse spheres of operation that no one has the competence to speak meaningfully about everything (unless you are a modern w-wist)?
Chalk up another one for the spirituality of the church.
Old Life 