I concur with your post, and the opinion which you express.
Some have posted here and made it sound like it is a "good thing" if the assets of a parish are totally at the whim of hte pastor and/or bishop....and that the people who supply the money should have no say in what is spent for what or how much!
The contention was raised at the same time that there is "strict accountability" in parish/diocesan finance. Now that I have stopped laughing - that is simply not true. Without lay control.....the type with real "teeth", it is still business as usual for "Fr. Sticky Fingers".
It seesm that some posters to this thread want to have iot both ways.........as long as it is in support of AB Burke, and against the Board of St. Stan's.
There is this to consider: Canon Law can be wrong. It is not divine in origen. It is not part of the Magisterium - the teaching authority of the Church. It is not protected from error. All it is is a man-made proceedural document regarding church discipline.
The Church has the right to make and enforce Church discipline......but that alone does not mean that it is "right".
As I have stated before - numerous times - Christ did not promise His Church earthly riches, nor even comfortable material sufficiency. He did not promise endowment funds, cushy rectories, episcopal mansion, and private condos in the flesh pots of the world.
All Christ promised to His Popes, Bishops, priests, and to his Church in general was spiritual authority and power. Raw authority and power. That is all.
Christ said: "do not concern yourself for what you are to eat, nor to wear"........God would provide for the needs of his shepherds, and for his flock.
God alone would provide.........not Citibank.
Christ repeatedly stressed the duty of obedience to the authority of the Church He was establishing. In His closing discourse to the disciples, He told them to teach all nations to observe all that He had commanded. This commission summarized the whole of the Savior’s public ministry. He determined as certain that, when He left the earth in visible form, He would leave the apostles and their successors with the right to command others in His name.Archbishop Burke is the legitimate authority in the Archdiocese in all matters requiring his governance. The duty of all of the faithful is clear when it comes to the lawful commands of the Church. Source.Everything that we associate with the Fourth Commandment about children honoring and obeying their parents, can be applied, in principle, to the honor and obedience that the faithful owe to those who hold legitimate authority in the Catholic Church. Yet, as in the case of parents and children, this is a mutual responsibility of the faithful toward those in ecclesiastical authority and of those in authority toward the faithful. The Church’s law is unqualified about the duty of the faithful.
Christ’s faithful, conscious of their own responsibility, are bound to show Christian obedience to what the sacred pastors, who represent Christ, declare as teachers of the faith and prescribe as rulers of the Church (Canon 212).At the same time, those holding authority to teach and govern the faithful also have their duties. There are at least a dozen provisions in Canon Law for bishops alone, legislating how they are to provide for the doctrinal, moral, and liturgical needs of the people under their care. This means that, “Christ’s faithful have the right to be assisted by their pastors from the spiritual riches of the Church, especially by the word of God and the sacraments” (Canon 213).
I personally have never known a priest who stole from the parish. I resent you painting with such a broad brush.
It also depends on exactly who is doing the 'lay control' -- lots of parishes have good people at the helm who are practicing Catholics living their faith as best they can and lots of parishes have people at the helm who want to wrest loose of the bonds they feel the Church has tied them up with.
It may have escaped your notice that the lay board has total control of the finances - monies from the parishioners who do not necessarily agree with total lay board control... where's the checks and balances on that?
The late pastor of the local N.O. parish insisted on counting the collections by himself. No one ever knew the details of parish finances.
He took a lot of trips. He also was a frequent visitor to the Indian gaming casinos.