The Archdiocese of Boston faces “significant financial challenges” as church attendance, school enrollment and weekly collections decline. The numbers released yesterday in the archdiocese’s financial report for the end of fiscal year 2009 were bleak, but the message in the report was one of optimism for a church trying to recover from clergy misconduct and battling a recession.
Schools continue to be a significant challenge, the report stated, and some were considered “at risk” due to declining enrollment and tuition rates that were less than the actual per student cost.
Chancellor James McDonough, the archdiocese’s secretary for financial and administrative services, said schools must raise tuition to cover operating costs.
While the numbers show declines in many areas, church officials seemed hopeful that the archdiocese would pull itself out of the financial difficulties.
