Catholic Social Tradition and Financial Decision Making (CSTFDM)
“Don’t tell me what you value. Show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value.” – the project intends to explore the truth of this statement with regard to Catholic Social Teaching (CST).
The goal of the CSTFDM project is to understand the current budgeting and financial decision making processes and procedures in selected, but representative Catholic institutions insofar as they relate to CST and to establish theologically justified ways of applying CST to matters of budgeting and financial decision making. The project works with the hypotheses that CST values do not play their due role in de facto decision making processes within Catholic institutions.
There are three guiding questions:
(1) How far do budgets and financial decision making processes of selected Catholic institutions reflect the values of Catholic Social Teaching?
(2) Can CST values and contents be translated into budget-relevant points of reference?
(3) Can an explicit consideration of CST principles change current budgetary practices and financial decision making processes?
In order to answer these questions the project explores de facto budgets and financial decision making processes of selected Catholic institutions, will establish reference points for the “translatability” of CST values in budget lines and develop an intervention that will be tested to increase the CST-compatibility of budgets.
The project works in a European and in a US American context through the partner institution of the Center for Social Concerns (University of Notre Dame) and cooperates with persons in Catholic institutions who have financial decision making powers, within the context of dioceses, within the context of religious communities (orders, congregations), and within the context of Catholic institutions such as hospitals, universities, or schools.
CSTFDM intends to develop and test an intervention (a “CST audit tool”), to form a network of academics and Catholic financial decision makers and to build the worldwide first CST Research Lab in cooperation between the Center for Ethics and Poverty Research (Salzburg) and the Center for Social Concerns (University of Notre Dame). The very point of this CST Research Lab is to test the enactment of CST on the ground.
Theoretical background
The target population is faced with the challenge any Catholic institution faces: the compatibility of their work with gospel values and the teachings of the Church including Catholic Social Teaching. The 2nd century debate, triggered by Clement of Alexandria’s “Who is the rich man who can be saved?,” is still relevant in its questions asked and in its concerns raised. The gospel challenge is still a thorn in the flesh of Catholic institutions: “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Mt 6:24); this is a question of a theology of finances in a broad sense where finances are considered a means to an end and the end(s) to be defined by ethical and theological considerations. This is a perennial challenge.
Current background
In addition to this timeless challenge, the project seeks to respond to financial pressures faced by many Catholic institutions in a changing climate of de-institutionalizing of religions. There is an understanding that due to demographic developments and effects of secularization resources will be more scarce in the future. This will increase the pressure to design and justify proper financial decisions and propably lead to budgetary conflicts about funding priorities. Furthermore, there are significant changes in the culture of the financial administration of the Church with a shift from clergy or religious to highly specialized lay persons who bring deep expertise and tries to meet increased expectations of developing a culture of accountability with proper financial monitoring and controlling.
The opportunity to engage now is based first and foremost on the Kairos brought by Pope Francis – who explicitly connected the financial reform of the Curia with Catholic Social Teaching. There have been many discussions about financial reforms of the Vatican and it is very clear that both within the Church and outside of the Church the attempts to reform Vatican finances have been met with a lot of attention.
Project partners: Center for Social Concerns (University of Notre Dame)
Project duration: 10.04.2018 – 10.04.2021
Contact:
Cornelia Stefan, PhD
cornelia.stefan@sbg.ac.at
Univ.-Prof. DDDr. Clemens Sedmak
Tel: +43 664 8525312
clemens.sedmak[a]sbg.ac.at
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Andreas-Michael Weiß
Tel:+43 662 8044-2677
andreas-michael.weiss[a]sbg.ac.at
The goal of the CSTFDM project is to understand the current budgeting and financial decision making processes and procedures in selected, but representative Catholic institutions insofar as they relate to CST and to establish theologically justified ways of applying CST to matters of budgeting and financial decision making. The project works with the hypotheses that CST values do not play their due role in de facto decision making processes within Catholic institutions.
There are three guiding questions:
(1) How far do budgets and financial decision making processes of selected Catholic institutions reflect the values of Catholic Social Teaching?
(2) Can CST values and contents be translated into budget-relevant points of reference?
(3) Can an explicit consideration of CST principles change current budgetary practices and financial decision making processes?
In order to answer these questions the project explores de facto budgets and financial decision making processes of selected Catholic institutions, will establish reference points for the “translatability” of CST values in budget lines and develop an intervention that will be tested to increase the CST-compatibility of budgets.
The project works in a European and in a US American context through the partner institution of the Center for Social Concerns (University of Notre Dame) and cooperates with persons in Catholic institutions who have financial decision making powers, within the context of dioceses, within the context of religious communities (orders, congregations), and within the context of Catholic institutions such as hospitals, universities, or schools.
CSTFDM intends to develop and test an intervention (a “CST audit tool”), to form a network of academics and Catholic financial decision makers and to build the worldwide first CST Research Lab in cooperation between the Center for Ethics and Poverty Research (Salzburg) and the Center for Social Concerns (University of Notre Dame). The very point of this CST Research Lab is to test the enactment of CST on the ground.
Theoretical background
The target population is faced with the challenge any Catholic institution faces: the compatibility of their work with gospel values and the teachings of the Church including Catholic Social Teaching. The 2nd century debate, triggered by Clement of Alexandria’s “Who is the rich man who can be saved?,” is still relevant in its questions asked and in its concerns raised. The gospel challenge is still a thorn in the flesh of Catholic institutions: “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Mt 6:24); this is a question of a theology of finances in a broad sense where finances are considered a means to an end and the end(s) to be defined by ethical and theological considerations. This is a perennial challenge.
Current background
In addition to this timeless challenge, the project seeks to respond to financial pressures faced by many Catholic institutions in a changing climate of de-institutionalizing of religions. There is an understanding that due to demographic developments and effects of secularization resources will be more scarce in the future. This will increase the pressure to design and justify proper financial decisions and propably lead to budgetary conflicts about funding priorities. Furthermore, there are significant changes in the culture of the financial administration of the Church with a shift from clergy or religious to highly specialized lay persons who bring deep expertise and tries to meet increased expectations of developing a culture of accountability with proper financial monitoring and controlling.
The opportunity to engage now is based first and foremost on the Kairos brought by Pope Francis – who explicitly connected the financial reform of the Curia with Catholic Social Teaching. There have been many discussions about financial reforms of the Vatican and it is very clear that both within the Church and outside of the Church the attempts to reform Vatican finances have been met with a lot of attention.
Project partners: Center for Social Concerns (University of Notre Dame)
Project duration: 10.04.2018 – 10.04.2021
Contact:
Cornelia Stefan, PhD
cornelia.stefan@sbg.ac.at
Univ.-Prof. DDDr. Clemens Sedmak
Tel: +43 664 8525312
clemens.sedmak[a]sbg.ac.at
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Andreas-Michael Weiß
Tel:+43 662 8044-2677
andreas-michael.weiss[a]sbg.ac.at
In cooperation with
