Delco Parish Owes Priest an Apology
By Ronnie Polaneczky
THE BANISHMENT of the Rev. Thomas Chang Soo Cho back to South Korea is meant to heal a Catholic community divided by gossip and fear. But it can't happen unless those in Cho's community summon the will to behave like the Christians their faith calls them to be. Everyone was excited when Cho arrived in August 2013 from Seoul, South Korea, for a five-year stint as pastor of St. Augustine Lee Kwang Heon Catholic Community. Part of the Philadelphia Archdiocese, the 250-member community holds services in the basement of Holy Cross Church in Springfield, Delaware County. It also rents the rectory, where Cho lives, which is attached to a big community room. Cho replaced a pastor who was beloved, but left some members hungry for more spirituality. So they were delighted when Cho, 60, began offering Bible classes that drew as many as 100 participants. He also arranged pilgrimages to the Holy Land (everyone paid their own way) so parishioners could walk where Jesus once did. "He made our faith feel alive," says parishioner Jongtaek Park. But early on, Cho noticed gaps in the parish's finances. Tens of thousands had been paid in reimbursements to church members whose expenses were not validated with receipts. Weirdly, the amounts were in round numbers: $250 here, $1,000 there. And records showed that the total collected in church offerings didn't always make it into the church's bank account. No one could account for the discrepancy, Cho said. So he created a finance committee to track spending. He also asked the Archdiocese to audit the parish, whose accounting didn't follow procedures required by the Archdiocese. And that, say Cho's supporters, is when some parishioners began spreading lies about Cho. Cho spent parish time and money on monthly trips to Los Angeles, his critics alleged, where he assists a mission he'd been involved with before his appointment to Philly. "I spend my own money and time," says Cho in an interview, speaking through a translator. And the trips last just three days. He is always back for Mass on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Cho records public meetings, they say - a confidentiality breach. "People would misinterpret what I said in public meetings, so I told them,'I am recording this,' " Cho says. He botched Sunday school, they charged, the day that a priest he hired never showed up to celebrate Mass with the kids. And he prudishly forbade drinking and gambling on church property, where congregants liked to socialize. "I said, 'If you want to drink or play cards, that's fine, but not here,' " Cho says. "This is church." But the nastiest attack centers on his "inappropriate relationship" with parishioner Lucy Kim, a widowed young mother whose parents are so fond of Cho that they routinely prepare his meals (the rectory has no working oven). The family also helps with his errands, coaches his English and tries to make him feel like family. Church members say Cho and Kim often meet alone, behind closed doors. "It's a scandal," says Chong Paul So, a vocal critic of Cho. "There is nothing inappropriate!" counters Kim, mortified. "These are lies to distract people from the financial problems." After Cho's detractors complained to the Archdiocese, Cho met with archdiocesan leaders who, he says, concluded that the complaints were "unfounded." But then the picketing started. Cho's detractors clogged the corner of East Springfield Road and Bishop Avenue, where the church sits, demanding his dismissal because Cho's principles were "unorthodox, unethical and hypocrite!" By Oct. 17, it was too much for the Archdiocese. The vicar for clergy, Monsignor Daniel Sullivan, told Cho's cardinal in Seoul that Cho was being relieved of his assignment. Without a job here, Cho has lost his work visa. So he must return to South Korea this Wednesday. The decision has stunned his supporters. "He did nothing wrong!" says a parishioner who, fearing retribution, requested anonymity. "Why should he have to leave?" Yesterday, Archdiocese spokesman Kenneth Gavin said that an ongoing audit of the parish, so far, shows "no evidence of any activity that . . . needs to be reported to law enforcement. Unfortunately, Father Cho's handling of the situation caused . . . serious division among the church members to the point that he is no longer able to lead the community effectively." But the Rev. Bruce Lewandowski, the vicar for clergy, spread responsibility over the whole congregation when he addressed them during Mass last Sunday. Church members shared with me a recording of the service. "Father Cho has not done anything wrong. He is not being punished. He tried to bring peace to the community but nothing worked," Lewandowski told them. "The community here is destroying itself. Things cannot continue as they are. "Father Cho deserves another chance somewhere else. No one deserves to be treated like Father Cho was treated." He then addressed what the audit had concluded so far: "Reckless spending and financial mismanagement" had put the community at risk. Cho, thankfully, had stopped the hemorrhaging. Now, Lewandowski would right the ship before a new priest from Korea took over the parish. "So what you can do? Please work with me!" he begged. "No more fighting. No more protests. No more gossiping on social media. We have to give people in this community a chance to get their good name back. Hurtful and terrible things were said about people . . . We have to stop hurting each other. We have to be instruments of peace." Whether his wise words fell on fertile ground or rocky soil remains to be seen. There's a world of hurt at the church right now. Those who caused it owe Father Cho an apology.
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