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Financial Report
When it comes to its finances, the church today is in a similar spotlight to stock corporations. While in the past the distribution and amount of financial investments was handled with some restraint, today more and more dioceses are relying on business transactions in accordance with the German Commercial Code (HGB) and transparent disclosure of asset structures and shareholdings. Last but not least, it is church members who demand accountability for how their taxes are used. In addition to the financial aspects, the pastoral orientation of the dioceses also plays an important role in the annual report. In times of declining income, it is also important here to present the goals and possibilities transparently. The Diocese of Mainz chose Heisters & Partner to develop its 2017 annual report. Under the motto »What Church is,« the report presents the nature and identity of the institution in a credible and open manner against the backdrop of the Mainz diocese's more than 1,000-year history. From the very beginning, a restrained and minimalist approach was at the heart of our team's intensive collaboration with the diocese's representatives.
Financial Report
The report offers the reader three main topics that are based on the most important events of the year. The journalistically prepared topic blocks deal with the church's treatment of young refugees, the retirement and farewell of Cardinal Lehman, and the diocese's work in child and youth care. An interview with the vicar general and diocesan administrator Dietmar Giebelmann addresses the current financial situation of the diocese and proactively addresses the financial circumstances and the diocese's transparency offensive as well as the disclosure of financial situations in accordance with the German Commercial Code (HGB).
The report has a deliberately reduced appearance with its clear and understated design. The font used, »Exquisit«, from the Linotype »Compatil« is of particular importance. The font system developed by Olaf Leu appears for the first time in the report of the Diocese of Mainz as a consistent annual report type and consistently unfolds its character, which is based on the forms of the classic Baroque Antiqua. The complex expansion of the font in so-called small caps, special characters and table numbers meets all reporting requirements and enables optimal readability. The highest text level in the report is represented by the structuring ordinal numbers on the chapter dividers, directly followed by the quotation level, which, as a dramatic structure, forms the actual conceptual backbone of the report: Quotations from the Holy Scriptures serve as an introduction to the narrative pieces about youth work, refugee aid and the cardinal's life's work, justifying the actions and nature of the church in the Diocese of Mainz.
Theologian Dr. Barbara Nichtweiß, who was responsible for the editorial texts in the annual report, linked the reports with the quotes »So that they may have a life in abundance,« »I was a stranger and you welcomed me,« and »Stand firm in your faith« – the motto of Cardinal Lehmann of Mainz. Through this textual dramaturgy, the printed word in the context of the reporting becomes an unmistakable expression of a church report that is clearly different from the business reports of commercial companies. The authentic photography of the reports also underscores this claim and at the same time fills the report with a lively expression of the pastoral work in the diocese. The foreword by the new Bishop of Mainz, Peter Kohlgraf, was deliberately placed on a small page format, which finds its counterpart in the report chapters. Here, a direct reference is made in terms of design to the pastoral core message of the bishop's word and the operational implementation in the areas of youth, refugees and the life's work of his predecessor, and a contrast is drawn to the financial reporting.
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