While I agree that a diocese should make clear which monies it receives will go to pay settlements and which will be used for ministries in the diocese – and dioceses in this situation have in fact done so, assuring Catholics that monies given to support ministries will not be used for other purposes – I don’t understand why you do not wish to help the diocese pay off the settlements. Do you suppose that there is someone else who will do so? Do you believe that lay Catholics should not be concerned to keep dioceses able to function for the pastoral care of local Catholics and able to offer monetary compensation to those who have been abused?
Our obligation as lay Catholics is to support the Church. We give what we can to the support of the Church, according to our best judgment of what we are able to afford. But we do not give because we feel good about it, or because we are “rewarding” our ecclesial shepherds, or because we approve of the behavior of those who have violated sacred trusts. We give because it is the right thing to do. We can ask for information on how our money is being spent, but we should not refuse to give what we can for the legitimate expenses of a diocese (which includes any legal debts the diocese incurs).
