The better way of the Catholic Church to survive
The Catholic Church is arguably the largest Christian organization in the world. In this regard, the management of the church across the world is conducted through immense challenges and constraints every year. The church spends billions of dollars on matters related to training of seminarians as well as administration of schools, technical centers, and programs on religious education for its various adherents (Clarke, Frohnen & Lyons, 2005).
Many followers of the Catholic Church include, but are not limited to priests, Brothers, Sisters, bishops, cardinals, and archbishops. In order to take proper care of all the mentioned functions, the church has adopted some business activities that can act as supplementary financial resources.
Importance of the approach
Just like all other organizations, churches need financial resources to survive and to manage their vast activities in society. In this regard, it is obvious for churches to venture in various business practices that will be useful to them as far as this goal is concerned. Even though there are many ways through which churches can raise money that is needed to run their activities, the best way is through business practices that are acceptable in society (Booth, 2007).
These business practices are used to manage all aspects of the church organizations, and therefore, they tend to make churches strong. For example, the money attained from the businesses is used to support the church through such things as sacramental provision, pastoral support, and fulfillment of church objectives through educational facilities. In this respect, the Catholic business model helps to fulfill the mission of the church to God and the faithful across the world.
Business and product that is better for the church
There are many business opportunities that churches can engage in. Not all these businesses would, however, be better for the Catholic Church owing to a number of factors. For example, the church readings and traditions emphasize ethically acceptable business practices, and not many businesses are consistent with this requirement. In other words, the Catholic Church conducts business in a manner which is ethical or socially responsible (Steinfels, 2013).
As Pope Francis once observed, the core purpose of church business is to produce goods and services that are truly good and ones that would improve the broader well-being of all those who are targeted. In this regard, the best business investments for the church will include such things as educational facilities, libraries, and bookshops among other types of businesses which respect human dignity.
Some of the common services and products that are likely to be realized from these businesses include quality education, library services, books, and stationery materials. All these are things that are necessary for the common good of society.
Outcome and benefits
These types of businesses will have a big impact on both the church and society (Crane & Matten, 2007). For example, businesses form part of the most promising investment opportunities in the modern world, and in that case, they can significantly help the church fulfill their big mission to society. On the other hand, all these are businesses which are ethical and socially responsible in a manner that will be beneficial to both the church and the society.
For example, such businesses as libraries and bookshops will help in fostering responsible values among the people, especially the young ones, thus helping to strengthen families and communities. This way, businesses will attract positive public attention, thus helping protect the reputation of the church across the world.
Advantages and disadvantages
The business model of the Catholic Church has its advantages and disadvantages. As Fitch (2005) observes, one major benefit associated with this business model is that it helps to cater to the rising demands and needs of the church. There is no doubt that the church continues to face immense financial challenges as the world evolves, and this makes it hard for the church community to fulfill its intended objectives.
Some of the biggest financial challenges facing the church today are a result of the skyrocketing revenues and increasing expenses due to high costs of labor, management of rehabilitation centers, and renovation of aging facilities. Moreover, constant settlements of church adherents over assault and abuse charges have also continued to place a heavy financial burden on the church over the years. All these problems would be a pressing issue to the church if it was not for its effective and promising business model.
The biggest disadvantage associated with the Catholic business model is that the church seems to be under the threat of collapsing owing to the distractive and questionable nature of the model. The profit-driven business model is said to be corrupt in all aspects (Cornwell et al., 2005). As a matter of fact, this is one of the many criticisms currently facing the Church in its vast business operations.
The church ministers are more focused on generating wealth and increasing stock dividends than on fulfilling the church mission to their followers and society. This overwhelming greed has made some priests turn their backs on their roles as church overseers to take an active part in the business operations of the church. This view contrasts the Pope’s observation that church organizations must ensure that people are served by wealth and not used for gaining it, and in that respect, has been very destructive to the church and all its segments.
Current state of things
Currently, the Catholic Church boasts of more than 1.2 billion followers across the world, and these numbers seem to be going up as the world evolves. The church community is managed by a group of adherents who are widely recognized for their commitment to ensuring that the faithful benefit from the church teachings. This group of adherents comprises bishops, archbishops, cardinals, and priests, among other people who tend to play a significant role in the daily management of the church and its many activities.
The training and care of all these people in their respective areas of service cost the church a lot of money every year. Moreover, there are other religious-based activities that are undertaken within the church organizations that also require financing. The offering given by the faithful cannot be enough to cater for all these needs, and therefore, the church is involved in some business practices that help in generating extra money.
I was aware that business dealings were necessary for the good management of the church organizations through pastoral ministry and religious education. It, however, has never occurred to me that there was a restriction on the type of businesses or products that the church can specialize in. As far as the church business model is concerned, I thought Catholics were involved in all kinds of commercial dealings, provided they contributed towards the support of the church and its structures.
What I found so interesting about the Church business model is that it is based on the unique principles of ethical business practices. In other terms, the model is consistent with the church teachings in all aspects, where it is intended to benefit not only the church but the entire society through moral and social guidance.
Nevertheless, I was not surprised by this discovery since this was a church business model. Just like anybody else, I would not expect the church to get involved in unethical or socially irresponsible business deals that will make it questionable in the eyes of the public.
This model is very important since it helps to support the church and its vast community-based programs. More importantly, the model helps to promote ethical and socially responsible teachings in society through enforcement of best business practices.
The model also gives church followers or ministers a chance to reach out to the faithful through significant business activities, and this helps in the fulfillment of the church mission. More importantly, the model gives the church ministers an opportunity to develop and practice important business skills that will be crucial in today’s business world.
Normally, priests lack exposure to serious business studies in the course of their long journey to priesthood. These people can, however, gain significant knowledge and skills on business management as they continue to take part in various business practices within their parishes.
It is also very obvious that through business dealings that are based on the Church teachings and traditions, priests and other church ministers are likely to develop best business practices that can be useful in changing the way business is conducted in the modern world. These best business practices include enhanced management, evaluation, and accounting skills that can help bring the Catholic Church into the modern financial environment.
References
Booth, P. (2007). Catholic Social Teaching and the Market Economy (No. 34). London: Institute of Economic Affairs.
Clarke, L. L., Frohnen, B. P., & Lyons, E. C. (2005). Practical Soul of Business Ethics: The Corporate Manager’s Dilemma and the Social Teaching of the Catholic Church. The Seattle UL Rev., 29(11), 139-145.
Cornwell, B., Cui, C., Mitchell, V., Schlegelmilch, B., Dzulkiflee, A., & Chan, J. (2005). A cross-cultural study of the role of religion in consumers’ ethical positions. International Marketing Review, 22(5), 531-546.
Crane, A., & Matten, D. (2007). Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
Fitch, D. E. (2005). The great giveaway: Reclaiming the mission of the church from big business, parachurch organizations, psychotherapy, consumer capitalism, and other modern maladies. Michigan: Baker Publishing Group.
Steinfels, P. (2013). A people adrift: The crisis of the Roman Catholic Church in America. United Kingdom: Simon and Schuster.