Church records €16,000 operations surplus

For the first time since 2006, the Maltese Archdiocese registered an operations surplus of €16,000 during 2012.

This comes as positive news to the Church, who between 2008 and 2011 made a loss of more than €3.5 million.

Presenting the Church's financial and pastoral report for 2012, pastoral secretary Charles Cordina said the Archdiocese had reached a balance between its revenue and expenditure.

The Church's total surplus amounted to €976,393, a figure which was boosted by return on capital investments and interests.

However, several of its entities keep operating at a deficit: the Ecclesiastical Tribunal registered a €457,000 deficit while children's homes, old people's homes and media remain operating at a loss.

"But it's a satisfaction for the Church to keep providing support to the vulnerable. However, this would not be possible without the help of our volunteers and the donations," Cordina said.

During 2012, collections and donations amounted to €8,039,659. Even though Dar tal-Providenza suffered a reduction in donations, it however enjoyed an increase in funds raised through different activities.

Last year's total income amounted to €25,855,437 while expenditure amounted to €25,839,261.

One of the Church's biggest expenses are salaries of lay employees which amounted to €11,099,036 and operational costs which amounted to €9,829,585.

The development of the Seminary's primary school has had significant impact on the Church's finances in terms of both revenue and expenditure.

In taxes during 2012, the Church paid €849,246 - a reduction of €89,630 when compared to the previous year.

Referring to Pope Francis's call for increased transparency and better management of resources and funds, Cordina said the Maltese Church had committed to such practices, having always published its accounts for the past 11 years.

Administrative secretary Monsignour Anton Portelli said the Archdiocese embarked on a cost-cutting exercise to reduce its expenses. This was carried out through controlled spending and prioritising needs.

Funds for feasts and printing expenses were reduced while banks were asked to manage the investments.

State grunts were equally important to sustain the Church's community services, especially through the work carried out by Caritas. The partnership between Church and government in providing beds for the elderly also proved beneficial for the Church given that the government offered advantageous rates to the Church.

During 2012, the Clergy's Fund amounted to €401,359 with the Archdiocese admitting that some parishes did not have enough funds to pay their priests providing services.

The Central Fund - which allocates funds for eight entities including children's homes, old people's homes, media, ecclesiastical tribunal and pastoral secretariats and commissions among others - suffered a loss of over €700,000.

During 2012, this fund forked out €1,954,348 to different entities.

In order to address its costs, the Church has also applied for EU funds in order to install solar panels at 53 different sites.

Capital gains on investments remain a positive source for the Church, having reached €960,307 in 2012. In 2011, this total amounted to €267,665.