The Archdiocese of New York is shedding staff — and says extra workers could should go — to assist pay for the Catholic Church’s sex-abuse scandal.
The cash-strapped Church already beforehand introduced the sale of the archdiocese’s Cardinal Cooke headquarters constructing in Midtown.
“Such choices are by no means straightforward, however the present monetary crunch the archdiocese faces, and the upcoming transfer to our new places of work in 2025, make this the suitable time to make some powerful choices,” Cardinal Timothy Dolan wrote in a letter to archdiocese trustworthy this month in saying the layoffs.
The pink slips are going to 18 staffers, or about 4% of the work pressure concerned within the archdiocese’s administration, and can save greater than $1.5 million as officers focus extra assets on parishes, based on the Church and Catholic media.
“Our purpose in all of that is to make sure that we’re responding as successfully as attainable to the wants of the folks we’re known as upon to serve within the ten counties and practically 300 parishes that make up this archdiocese,” Dolan mentioned. “This restructuring has, sadly, resulted in regrettable lay-offs for some staff on the Cardinal Cooke Constructing of the Catholic Heart and elsewhere across the archdiocese.”
Dolan added that the workers discount is “not a one-time occasion” and that extra job cuts may very well be within the offing, on the very least via attrition.
The particular jobs being axed weren’t launched as a result of a number of the affected staff haven’t been notified but, the Nationwide Catholic Reporter mentioned.
The Archdiocese beforehand introduced the sale of its 40,000-square-foot, 20-story headquarters at 1011 First Ave. between East fifty fifth and 56th streets for greater than $100 million. The Vanbarton Group, a developer of workplace and luxurious buildings, purchased the prime Manhattan property, The Spirit information outlet reported.
The constructing’s church staff are being relocated to a smaller constructing at 488 Madison Ave., nearer to St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue.
Dolan mentioned prices surrounding the hordes of sex-abuse instances in opposition to the Church stay a main monetary concern. The Archdiocese has sued its insurer, Chubb, for refusing to pay a number of the claims.
“We have now labored laborious to settle meritorious instances not coated by insurance coverage, in justice to the victims of years previous,” Dolan wrote in his letter. “We settled over 400 hundred instances via our Impartial Reconciliation and Compensation Program (IRCP) and 123 extra in response to the CVA [Child Victims Act of 2019].
“There stays about 1400 instances of alleged abuse, some relationship again to World Conflict II! To be clear, not all of those allegations are in opposition to monks. In truth, the 2 largest teams of complaints are in opposition to a former volunteer basketball coach and a former janitor…..In the long term, all these instances are a towering expense for us,” the cardinal mentioned.
He mentioned the proceeds of the sale of the constructing on First Avenue “will probably be used to ease the monetary burden brought on by the sexual abuse disaster.”
“Different properties are fastidiously being thought-about on the market as nicely. Our future monetary power would require much more technique and sacrifice and much more assist from the archdiocese and extra assist from our parishes and other people,” Dolan mentioned.
He mentioned a number of the financial savings will return to parishes within the type of grants, for instance, to arrange particular Lots for immigrant communities that make up the Archdiocese that encompasses Manhattan, Staten Island, The Bronx and northern suburbs.
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