https://www.deseret.com/2023/5/15/23724 ... ormons-inc
The truth is, most churches don’t have a problem with being financially transparent:“Deseret News” wrote: Sensible people might disagree over these questions in good faith. But that’s not the public conversation being fostered by these sorts of stories.
Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised to see secular observers drawing on materialist explanations to make sense of what they witness in communities of faith. But when an entire organization is repeatedly cast in a suspicious light, it starts to feel more like a proxy battle over religion and its free ability to fulfill its mission within a secularizing and skeptical world.
https://uscatholic.org/articles/202008/ ... -in-order/
A few key quotes.
Studies show that when parishes are financially transparent, parishioners are more committed and more generous. A survey of 2,200 Catholics that I helped conduct found that parishioners who felt they had enough information about parish finances contributed 32 percent more than those who felt they didn’t have enough; those who felt laypeople had enough influence in parish finances contributed 26 percent more; parishioners who felt the parish leadership was financially accountable contributed 15 percent more; and those who agreed that the parish leadership discussed important parish decisions contributed 16 percent more than those who disagreed.
The Mormon church is a human institution.financial transparency is about more than preventing embezzlement, although this is important. As a human institution, the church is susceptible to the same types of financial fraud as are proprietary-sector organizations. Transparency in all parish activities, notable in financial matters, is necessary for laypeople to be involved in this co-responsibility.
Most parishes share their final budget with their parishioners. But to be co-responsible, parishioners need the opportunity to have a say in the budget. One effective means for accomplishing this is to hold a town hall meeting where the preliminary budget is presented to the entire parish so that parishioners can comment and make suggestions. My research shows that 80 percent of regular Mass attendees approve of this approach. Parishes that engage in this practice receive 29 percent more financial contributions than those that don’t.
The Mormon church claims embezzlement and fraud is “almost nonexistent” with zero evidence to back up that claim.In research I conducted with my colleague Robert West, we found that 85 percent of U.S. Catholic dioceses had experienced embezzlement in the past five years. Most of this fraud was at the parish level and could have been prevented with better financial transparency.
Finally, the Catholic Church in Rome does not take parishioner’s money and give a pittance back to the parishes. Parishes keep their parishioners’ money and decide how to use it locally. The Mormon church in Salt Lake takes every ward’s donations directly, and if the ward is lucky they might get some of it back.