Villanova has embarked on something unusual: an M.B.A. program in church management. The Wall Street Journal has the scoop:

The reputations of many Roman Catholic parishes have been tarnished in recent years, both by the priest sex-abuse scandals and a growing number of embezzlement cases. That has prompted a burgeoning movement to improve the management and leadership skills of church officials through new programs being offered primarily at Catholic universities. M.B.A. Track columnist Ron Alsop talked recently with Charles Zech, director of the Center for the Study of Church Management and a professor of economics at Villanova University’s School of Business in Villanova, Pa., about the launch of its master’s degree in church management in May and the need for more sophisticated and more transparent business practices in parishes and religious organizations.

WSJ: Why did Villanova decide to create a master’s degree in church management?

Dr. Zech: We find that business managers at both the parish and diocesan level often have social work, theology or education backgrounds and lack management skills. While pastors aren’t expected to know all the nitty-gritty of running a small business, they at least need enough training in administration to supervise their business managers. Before starting the degree, we ran some seminars in 2006 and 2007 as a trial balloon to see if folks were interested enough to pay for management education. The seminars proved to be quite popular, drawing people from all over the country, including high-level officials from both Catholic dioceses and religious orders.

How have the sexual-abuse scandals and embezzlement cases put a spotlight on poor management and governance practices?

The Catholic Church has some real managerial problems that were brought to light by the clergy abuse scandals. It became quite obvious that the church isn’t very transparent and accountable in its finances. Settlements had been made off the books with abuse victims and priests had been sent off quietly for counseling, to the surprise of many parishioners. Then came a string of embezzlement cases. Our center on church management surveyed chief financial officers of U.S. Catholic dioceses in 2005 and found that 85% had experienced embezzlements in the previous five years. One of our recommendations was that parishes be audited once a year by an independent auditor. There clearly are serious questions about internal financial controls at the parish level, and we are now doing research on parish advisory councils and asking questions about such things as who handles the Sunday collection and who has check-writing authority. Does the same person count the collection, deposit the money and then reconcile the checkbook? Obviously, you’re just asking for problems if it’s the same person; you can imagine the temptations.

Beyond the need for better financial controls, what other management issues should get more attention from church leaders?

Performance management is definitely an important but neglected area. That’s partly because it’s a very touchy issue. Who is going to appraise the performance of a priest or a church worker who is also a member of the parish? There’s great reluctance on the part of the clergy to be appraiser or appraisee. You have to view the parish as a family business and understand that it’s like evaluating members of your family.

There’s much more beyond that. Check the WSJ link for the rest.