Pope Dismisses New Hampshire Priest Who Embezzled Money

By Jack Rodolico
New Hampshire Public Radio
April 7, 2017

http://nhpr.org/post/pope-dismisses-new-hampshire-priest-who-embezzled-money#stream/0

[with audio]

Edward Arsenault

Pope Francis has dismissed a New Hampshire priest from the clergy.

Monsignor Edward Arsenault was the public face of the Diocese of Manchester during the Catholic sex abuse scandal in the mid-2000s.

Arsenault later pleaded guilty to stealing $300,000 from a hospital, a bishop and the estate of a deceased priest.

Father George DeLaire, vicar for canonical affairs for the diocese, says Arsenault has been unable to repay the money he embezzled.

"One of the reasons for which the Diocese of Manchester brought a case against Ed Arsenault was due to the amount of damage that was caused to the community," DeLaire says.

Arsenault has been in prison since 2014, but was recently released to home confinement. He's up for parole in 2018.