As outlined in the Archdiocesan Strategic Pastoral Plan, the Archdiocese of Saint Louis is committed to responsible stewardship of the gifts God has given to us. A very important element of stewardship is accountability regarding our use of resources. Clearly, the administrators of the Church’s temporal goods should always strive to meet the same high ethical standards which we teach to all the faithful. The practices, policies, and structures by which the Church in the Archdiocese is governed are set up to reinforce and foster the goal of being ethical and accountable in all of our dealings
We strive to be accountable in the administration of the Church’s temporal goods by involving people with diverse backgrounds in the consultative bodies at the parish and Archdiocesan levels. First, the Archdiocese utilizes and seeks counsel from the Audit Committee and the Archdiocesan Finance Council. Secondly, Archdiocesan policy requests that every parish have an active pastoral council, and universal Church Law requires that every parish have a finance council. Thirdly, we have an active internal audit program to monitor our compliance with good accounting practices and with the Archdiocese's Financial Management and Control Manual for Parishes.
Although we have many controls in place to inform us of financial misconduct which may have already occurred, we are advised that the time has come to implement a process which will notify us in a timely manner of all suspected incidents of financial misconduct. Recent recommendations of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops tell us that the use of a third-party anonymous fraud hotline is the best mechanism that the Archdiocese can employ to achieve an increased level of financial accountability at all levels of the Archdiocese.
This hotline will allow employees, parishioners, volunteers, vendors, and other interested parties to report anonymously any concerns regarding suspected financial misconduct. The Archdiocese of Chicago has successfully implemented a similar program about a year ago and other dioceses are in the process of considering similar programs. The Archdiocese of St. Louis has contracted with “NAVEX” to provide a system for individuals to report detailed information on suspected misappropriation of Archdiocesan assets.
The hotline is not intended to be used for reporting sexual abuse allegations, issues regarding human resources or employment, or “dislikes” of individual operations at parishes or agencies. The sole purpose of the hotline is to report confidentially any conduct that may be unethical, illegal, or otherwise inconsistent with the policies of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis.
You may use either of the following two methods to submit a report:
Dial toll-free, within the United States, Guam, Puerto Rico and Canada:
After you complete your report you will be assigned a unique code called a "report key." Write down your report key and password and keep them in a safe place. After 5-6 business days, use your report key and password to check your report for feedback or questions.