(ZENIT News / Washington, 06.07.2025).- In a dramatic move that underscores years of mounting financial pressure, the Archdiocese of Washington is preparing to cut approximately 30 staff positions from its central offices, a decision Archbishop Robert McElroy has called one of the most painful of his ministry. The cuts, set to take place before the start of the new fiscal year in July, reflect a growing crisis that has long simmered beneath the surface—and is now boiling over.
For five consecutive years, the archdiocese has run an annual operating deficit of around $10 million, relying on its financial reserves to stay afloat. That cushion, however, is wearing thin. McElroy, installed as archbishop in March, inherited a system already stressed by the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, years of declining donations, and the lingering shadow of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s abuse scandal—a toxic combination that has destabilized the archdiocese’s economic foundation.
The decision to shrink the archdiocesan workforce follows what McElroy described as an “intensive period of consultation and review” with financial advisors, clergy, and senior leadership. While the archdiocese has not yet released details about which roles will be eliminated, internal sources say the majority of cuts will affect the Pastoral Center in Hyattsville, Maryland, where staffing has already dropped significantly since 2020. At that time, the chancery employed over 200 people. That number had dwindled to roughly 120 by this spring.
“These are not just numbers. These are people—colleagues, friends, families,” McElroy wrote in a letter to employees. “The choices we are making are not a reflection of their commitment or performance, but of a painful financial reality.”
The Archbishop’s statement also reflects concern over broader fallout. While the layoffs aim to stabilize the budget, they may carry ripple effects across archdiocesan ministries, many of which depend heavily on central staffing. Though no programs have been officially shuttered, observers worry that stretched departments will be unable to sustain past levels of service, particularly in community outreach and support for struggling parishes.
Long before this latest reckoning, warning signs were visible. In 2020, the archdiocese laid off 17 chancery employees amid pandemic-related financial losses. Then-Archbishop Wilton Gregory implemented a controversial overhaul of the diocesan tax structure in 2024, taxing nearly all parish revenue—including previously exempt donations and grants. That move was expected to bring in an additional $3 million per year. It wasn’t enough.
What further complicates the picture is the enduring impact of the McCarrick scandal. Though exact figures are elusive, both Gregory and McElroy have acknowledged that donor confidence took a major hit after allegations emerged in 2018 that McCarrick had serially abused seminarians and managed a secret, unaccounted-for fund used for gifts to influential church officials.
Despite calls for transparency, the full scope of McCarrick’s financial dealings during his six-year tenure in Washington remains hidden. The discretionary fund he oversaw was never independently audited, and the archdiocese has yet to release a forensic accounting of its activity. In the absence of full disclosure, the scandal has left not just moral damage, but a legacy of suspicion that continues to erode trust.
Today, as McElroy contemplates a leaner chancery and attempts to rebuild institutional confidence, another concern is emerging: the long-term stability of the priests’ pension fund. While the archdiocese has stated that the fund is solvent for now, whispers about a possible increase in the retirement age are growing louder.
For many, the crisis feels like a convergence of the past and present—an unresolved legacy of clerical abuse and financial opacity colliding with a new era of economic fragility and donor fatigue. It also raises existential questions about the sustainability of a diocesan infrastructure that once assumed a level of institutional generosity that no longer exists.
Still, McElroy has pledged to handle the transition with as much dignity and support as possible. His letter assures those affected that severance packages, extended benefits, and job placement assistance will be made available. But even these measures, he concedes, are “not a substitute for what is being lost.”
The Archdiocese of Washington serves over 650,000 Catholics across 140 parishes and nine missions in the nation’s capital and surrounding counties. But behind that number lies a sobering new reality: fewer hands to serve, fewer resources to rely on, and a pressing need to reimagine the Church’s administrative model in a time of institutional retrenchment.
Thank you for reading our content. If you would like to receive ZENIT’s daily e-mail news, you can subscribe for free through this link.
