The Roman Catholic Church may have far more members and assets than the Mormon Church, but the American-born faith has a better bottom line.
That's because the Catholic Church and many other denominations are in deep financial trouble. Catholic dioceses in some areas are being forced to sell assets just to pay operating expenses.Although significantly smaller in number - outnumbered 126-1 by Catholics - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not only paying its expenses, but is able to invest several hundred million dollars a year in securities and real estate, The Arizona Republic reported Sunday.
Those investments are guided by leaders who understand balance sheets as well as theology.
Many of them had successful business careers before they were called to full-time church service. And in addition to fulfilling spiritual duties, they often hold important positions as directors or trustees of church-owned corporations.
Another reason for the church's financial strength is that it is blessed with a steady cash flow.
Mormons are required by religious doctrine to tithe 10 percent of gross income. About a third of Mormon families are thought to tithe the full 10 percent. Most of the others contribute at least something.
In contrast, the Catholic Church traditionally has asked members to pay only an unspecified portion of what is left after living expenses. Surveys estimate Catholics give only about 1 percent of their incomes to the church.
Overall, that would be only about a third as much as the average Mormon pays, a Republic examination of Mormon finances has concluded.
Organizationally, the Catholic Church has evolved over 2,000 years into a decentralized institution. Its parishes worldwide are expected to follow Rome closely in matters of doctrine, but have far more financial independence than do Mormon wards.
Parishes maintain their own financial accounts, sending money to Rome only on special occasions. But wards forward tithes and other offerings to Salt Lake headquarters, which then pays the wards' expenses.
There also is a sharp difference in the two churches' institutional focus.
Catholic institutions are concentrated in the areas of education, health care and social services. But the LDS Church has engaged in a far wider range of economic activities, including commercial and agricultural real-estate investments, insurance companies, commercial radio and television stations, sugar production and retail department stores.
In Arizona, for example, a single Mormon corporation, Property Reserve Inc., owns about $120 million in real estate, including a shopping center in Mesa and the Security Pacific Bank Plaza in Tucson.
Property Reserve, a corporate entity for the church's Arizona properties that changed its name last summer from DTHC-Arizona, is exempt from federal income taxes but pays property taxes.
Because of the structure of the Catholic Church, with dioceses raising revenue independent of the Vatican, there is no single set of figures to show its financial condition.
But signs of trouble abound. The Vatican is estimating a record $91.5 million deficit in its 1991 budget. It hopes to raise the money with help from the Peter's Pence, a special collection for the pope that had been used for charitable projects.
A growing number of U.S. dioceses have responded to financial woes by reducing personnel.
With declining enrollments and facing a drop in the number of clergy who long staffed schools at minimal salaries, the church's parochial schools have become a major financial drain.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the nation's largest, with 3.4 million Catholics, consolidated some of its parochial schools and laid off 15 percent of its staff in an attempt to reduce an estimated $8 million deficit.
The Phoenix diocese, the nation's 38th largest, and the Tucson diocese, the 47th largest, have combined assets of about $100 million. About two-thirds of that is in non-income-producing properties, such as schools.
In fiscal 1989-90, the Tucson diocese wrestled with $16.6 million in debts, while the Phoenix diocese had $724,000 in red ink.