After the the 2018 scandals of Theodore McCarrick and the Pennsylvania grand jury report on clerical sexual abuse, some Catholics began to say publicly they would no longer support diocesan appeals. Those voices grew louder amid discontent over the Church’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. But are frustrated Catholics actually scaling back their financial support for their dioceses? We went to the numbers to find out.
The Pillar examined records of annual appeal collections in 25 geographically and demographically diverse dioceses from 2016 to 2020. We found that on average, the collections of diocesan annual appeals have gone down 4% during the last 4-5 years....
In related news, The Pillar has made me a "contributing editor". I certainly won't be quitting my day job, but as Pillar editor-in-chief JD Flynn says, while "it comes with no material benefits, no great prestige, and not even a cool watch. It does mean [Brendan] will continue to develop data-driven journalism for The Pillar, and offer a unique perspective on the life of the Church."
I'm honored by their faith in my work, and if you haven't already subscribed, I'd definitely encourage giving them a look. They have by far the best coverage of the Church that I've seen in recent years.
1 comment:
Congratulations on your addition to the staff! I was wondering, when I saw your name mentioned again as a contributor, how long it would be until they roped you in more formally.
I'm so glad to be able to read your data analysis there. It sort of cracks me up to run into you quoting from the Dispatch and contributing to the Pillar, when I've come across them separately but appreciate them too. Like Lewis's description of friends: "You too?" :-)
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