April 30, 2020
Dear lay employees of the Diocese of Oakland,
I know all of you are dealing with very painful situations. Collectively, in these last days of April, we have lost approximately 300 positions in our parishes and another 300 positions in our Catholic schools.
I have also taken difficult actions here at the Chancery to cut costs and services consistent with the parishes’ and schools’ experience. While the Diocese is in no position to assist parishes financially because of our own lack of reserves, I am in solidarity with our parishes’ and school’s financial difficulties and response to them.
Effective May 1 through the end of 2020, I am eliminating the parish assessment of The Catholic Voice. Many pastors have expressed concern about the Catholic Voice assessment and the strain it placed on parish budgets. The costs of the newspaper are being absorbed in the Chancery budget cuts and other cost-savings measurements.
In addition, I and members of my Chancery leadership team:
- Reduced staff by a total 28. Most of these individuals were laid off while a few were furloughed. All job actions take effect this Friday, May 1.
- Asked all remaining exempt employees to take a 10% pay cut for the remainder of the year. Pay cuts are effective May 1. Members of my leadership voluntarily took cuts beyond my 10% request.
- Implemented a hiring freeze. Until further notice, all hiring regardless of level must have my approval.
It was difficult to let go of so many of our colleagues. However, this action was necessary to reduce our 2020 personnel budget by 35% overall for fiscal year 2020. The total personnel changes represent a 50% reduction in such costs for the remainder of 2020. These reductions have impacted every department in the Chancery.
We know reducing our staff will reduce our capacity to serve our parishes. It may result in some services being eliminated altogether. For example, we are eliminating two major gatherings this year, the Eucharistic Congress and the Catechetical Congress. Our youth ministry (including Boy Scouts and sports) and RCIA programming have been suspended until further notice.
With the assurance of my blessing and continued prayers for you and your loved ones, I remain
Yours sincerely in Christ,
The Most Reverend Michael C. Barber, SJ
Bishop of Oakland
Full story at Diocese of Oakland.
Jesus said that you cannot serve both God and mammon. But it seems the Church is realizing that if you don’t serve mammon just a little bit, you won’t be able to serve God all that well either. Aren’t there any uber-wealthy Catholic tech titans in the diocese who can help?
Silicon Valley is near San Jose
Tech is all over the Bay Area, not limited to Menlo Park and Palo Alto.
The Great Commission: go forth and baptize all nations in the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit and teach all that Jesus taught. Corporatism of paid diocesan/parish employees is over sans $$$. The focus can shift for diocese to help parishes with legal and finance. Let subsidiarity, ministry at the local level thrive: priests teaching parents and catechists who pass on faith; hands off parish worship affairs rather than control over how a parish spreads the faith. Top heavy diocesan control won’t work now without $$$ to fund them: spying for communion rails, on pastors for faithful preaching and writing, clergy finally teaching about Jesus, not socialism. Finally, give them Jesus, and they will come back.
The Church will get what it pays for in terms of quality and talent. Mega churches who pay their staff better and provide better quality experiences (never mind the theology) will siphon what few Catholics remain away from Catholic parishes, where with paid staff things are currently abysmal. With only volunteers doing music and running parish programs… total collapse of the Catholic Church in the U.S.
The message and means of the mega churches are not the Eucharistic sacrifice which Was instituted to save us from sin to transform us into his image and to clothe with eternal life. They have a different emphasis and delivery and some people will be attracted to it but we need to stick with the truth and the great commission that Jesus gave to us
Mega churches are cults of personality. Once the lead personality retires or dies, most simply fall apart. All you need to do is read the history of the Crystal Cathedral and the late Rev. Robert Schuller.
As to your comments about the intelligence level of paid parish staff, that says more about you than the parish staff. Growing up in the NY Archdiocese back in the 50s and 60s, it was a time when parishes did not have a paid staff of more than one or two at most. All of the work was done by parish volunteers, and, in my opinion, the parishes were far better run.
Xavier , Amen , lookup the story of the Crystal Cathedral , the limo and food donations to illustrate your point. I agree with your volunteer assessment, I would ad as far as the mega church’s I believe that with this crisis they may not be able to maintain what they once had , also aren’t nones the fastest growing non religious group ?.I would be willing to bet that the archdiocese was financially mismanaged and overextended in it’s ministries, with the statute of limitations litigation and the pension crisis the bad news will not be over anytime soon, we will sadly see more stories like this .
I agree about paid staff.. Where I grew up in San Leandro, attended Assumption School and Parish, volunteers cleaned the Church, provided maintenance, office work, gardening etc.. These people were not paid staff. We had many volunteers. Everything ran smooth. We also did not use or need Eucharistic ministers. It was a large parish. Surprising how with the Grace of God, everything ran so well. The bishop was not hounding us for money all of the time or making the Priest beg every week. We took care of our own and the Priest.