RVC Diocese looking to trim staff

Many were shocked when news broke on Jan. 26 that the Diocese of Rockville Centre would be offering a buyout to 1,500 of its 6,000 workers. And the shock increased when it was reported on Feb. 9 that the buyout number had risen to 1,800.

The decision came as part of a concerted effort on the part of the diocese to cut expenses in a time when decreased Mass attendance and increased expenses have strained the Church’s wallet said Sean Dolan, the diocese’s Director of Communications.

“To assure that the Church’s financial health is maintained through the future and we’re able to carry out vital religious and social ministries in the Church today and into the future, we need to be able to become more efficient at what we do in terms of reducing expenses,” said Dolan. “What’s happening is that the demands for the church’s ministries have increased—they’ve never been higher. Yet the expenses for the ministries exceed the donations that are coming in.”

The buyout will offer the eligible 25 percent of the diocese’s workforce—not including priests, nuns or monks—a package that includes money and a few months of continued health coverage.

The plan was first revealed by Bishop William Murphy in the diocese’s newspaper. In the letter he wrote, he outlined the reasons for the cost-cutting measures.

“Our two primary income sources—Mass offertory and the Catholic Ministries Appeal—have remained steady over the past several years,” Murphy wrote. “However, our stewardship of the Church today has to face two significant trends: (1) a steady increase in demand for many of the Church’s services, such as Catholic Charities and Education, and (2) rising operating expenses in the areas of healthcare, personnel, and building maintenance.”

According to Dolan, the diocese is hoping that at least half of the 1,500 employees offered the package will accept it.

“We’re hoping that everyone will actively consider this package. It is a one-time offer,” said Dolan. “So if people are approaching retirement age and they were thinking of retiring in the next couple of years, I think it’s important for them to seriously consider it.”

However, if the diocese does not have enough employees opt to take the buyout, it will resort to more traditional measures—layoffs.