Question: Our long term care offers daily mass — that is accessible to disabled persons — to elderly and handicapped members of the community. Should this be reported as community benefit? We believe that health has physical, emotional and spiritual dimensions, so wouldn't this respond to spiritual needs of community members?
Recommendation: The task force commends the facility for offering mass to community members, but recommends not counting it as community benefit because of the difficulty in isolating costs associated with community participation. The task force members also believe that providing mass is an expected part of a Catholic ministry and, as such, should not be quantified as a community benefit.
(January 2009)