Parish as a trust

I read with great interest Tim Gallagher's proposal to restructure parishes under civil law (NCR, March 9). Twenty years ago I studied the issue and came up with an alternate solution, offered it to my bishop and got nowhere. The idea is simple. The people in the parish are the beneficiaries of parish structure. In the 19th century, many parishes were formally organized as a trust, with governance through a group of lay trustees. Trusts were abandoned in the 20th century. Autocratic clerical governance became the rule. We all know the mess this created. I have personal experience with a pastor who never reported bingo earnings nor the support he furnished his woman and their child.

The trust is the better way to administer a parish. It's a creature of the chancery court in medieval England, a Catholic institution, and is consistent with the idea that the parish exists for the parishioners. Most states now have statutes following the Model Trust Code, a civil law already extant. This code has ample structure for all the procedures identified by Mr. Gallagher and a review process in a civil court if trustees go astray. A trust is a creature of the parishioners; it requires one public filing usually with a country clerk. The only disadvantage I know is that the trust may not seek relief in bankruptcy, but this should never be necessary if laypeople pay attention.

ANTHONY F. AVALLONE

Las Cruces, N.M.

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