Joseph Sweeney's career in social service

Most workdays, Joseph Sweeney, the leader of Pennsylvania's largest social services agency, slips away from his desk at Catholic Human Services and walks around the block for the 12:05 p.m. Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul.

"It takes you out of that environment where you have people knocking on the door and the phone's ringing and it puts you back, as a Catholic, in the presence of the Lord and the Eucharist," Sweeney said. "Then 35 minutes later, you are back at work, business as usual."

Unlike many social service leaders with liberal arts backgrounds, Sweeney, 69, started his career in for-profit finance.

"No money, no mission," he said. "You have to be fiscally responsible and you have to have rigor to your process."

How did you react when you heard Pope Francis was coming?

I was overjoyed. People use different words about what this means to the church - reinvigorate, revitalize. I think recalibrate is a better word.

What do you mean?

The archbishop said, 'You know, Joe, if you and I don't take care of the poor, we're going to go to hell.' It's true. We have a job to do. It's to take care of the poor. People forget that the church is out there helping a lot of people, and this guy [Pope Francis] keeps reminding us. When I say recalibrating, people complain because there is a 4 o'clock Mass on a Saturday instead of at 5. One of the things, and I happen to be thinking about it all the time, is what the church really is. It's a beacon of hope. This is our faith; we're supposed to be doing things for people.

Maybe Pope Francis will read this. What would you like to say to him?

I would like to say that we are really affirming now, and we've been doing it for 200 years, what he's been saying: taking care of the poor. We, the church and the faithful of this archdiocese, really do reach out and touch the poor.

When you go to confession, do you confess about work problems?

No.

Why?

Because I think, as a Catholic, I'm having trouble identifying a situation where a work problem would be a matter of confession in the Catholic faith.

Many executives could confess to arrogance or to being oblivious to the struggles of workers.

I wasn't even on that page. What I was thinking, 'Are we, Catholic Human Services, doing something unethical or illegal?' What you're talking about are basic tenets. We are all sinners. I wouldn't want to do a laundry list of my weaknesses, but they are aplenty, as most people would admit. If you do things that aren't good, you do them 24 hours a day, not just at work. But it's a good point. Have I been impatient? Absolutely. I don't think I'm exempt.

Did the child-abuse scandals involving priests impact your fund-raising?

While there is certainly great angst and concern, I think people are able to separate that from the needs of the church and the needs of the works of mercy.

When Archbishop Chaput began, you served, temporarily, as chief financial officer for the archdiocese.

The archdiocese was faced with tremendous financial problems. It didn't happen overnight and it wasn't going to be solved piecemeal. [We] had to look at everything to see where resources could be directed to solve our problems.

What changed?

Transparency. We have published financial statements. I think it's good. There can't be any secrets because we're the church.

Does it help?

It erases some of the myths. People say, 'Why are they closing parishes?' They are closing parishes because there isn't any money coming in. They try to keep them open. The other thing is the schools. My high school closed. I wish it were still open. But they were down to 600 students in a building built for 6,000.

___

JOE SWEENEY

Title: Secretary, since 2008.

Home: Richboro.

Family: Wife, Agnes; Children, Joseph, Jennifer Gillespie, Matthew, Megan Tantillo, Cara Herzog.

Parish: St. Andrew's, Newtown.

Diplomas: Cardinal Dougherty; La Salle University, accounting; Duquesne University, master's, business.

Resumé: Started in finance in oil, moved to nonprofit Catholic nursing-home management, rising to CEO of Catholic Health Care Services.

Saturdays: At the Shore, playing with the grandkids.

CATHOLIC HUMAN SERVICES

Official name: Secretariat for Catholic Human Services, Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Mission: Health care, social services, assistance to youth, families, homeless, the aged, veterans, immigrants; hospice care, maternity homes, food, foster care.

Revenues: $163 million, mostly from government contracts, fees for service.

Employees: 2,160.

jvonbergen@phillynews.com

215-854-2769@JaneVonBergen

Interview questions and answers have been edited for space.