THE ECONOMIC STRAIN ON THE CHURCH

摘要

As the U.S. catholic church battles the most sordid scandal in its history, it is fighting to preserve its moral and spiritual authority as the largest nongovernmental institution in American life. Yet even as it does so, another catastrophe looms―one that is not about sex abuse and priests but about money and management. The fierce scruti- ny that is piercing the Church's veil of secrecy over sex is also beginning to reveal the largely hidden state of its finances. As the institution's legal and moral crisis builds, so too do the threats to its economic foundation―a foundation already under enormous strain. "If there is anything that is kept more secret in the Church than sex, it is finance," says former priest and activist A.W. Richard Sipe.