Diocese claims $130K misspent; priest resigns amid investigation

By Bob Kalinowski
Standard Speaker
June 5, 2017

http://standardspeaker.com/news/diocese-claims-130k-misspent-priest-resigns-amid-investigation-1.2201901

KINGSTON — When a fill-in priest opened Mass on Sunday at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, parishioner Denise Tomasura didn’t think anything was wrong.

Then, at the end of Mass, an unexpected bombshell was announced: the parish priest, the Rev. John Chmil, resigned amid an investigation into misused church funds.

“Personally, I am seconds from crying. I loved father,” Tomasura, 53, said Sunday afternoon. “If I said who would be the last person on earth, it would be Father Chmil. If you thought about God on earth, he would be the perfect person. I am shocked. We drove all the way home in silence.”

Tomasura said she’s hoping the issue was the result of a mistake, but a statement from the Diocese of Scranton said Chmil knowingly misused parish funds and admitted it to diocese officials. The diocese said about $130,000 in parish funds were misspent.

A criminal investigation is now underway for what the diocese labeled a serious “breach of trust.”

Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis on Sunday said the diocese asked her office to investigate.

Chmil has been pastor of St. Ignatius since June 2015.

Last month, Chmil admitted he misused parish funds after the diocese began a review of the church’s accounts, the diocese said.

While Chmil claims the money was used for charitable purposes, the amount spent exceeds the maximum allowed without diocesan approval, the diocese said.

Parishioners said St. Ignatius’ former pastor, the Rev. John Polednak, will serve as temporary administrator of the church. A new pastor will be appointed to replace Chmil, the diocese said.

The diocese said it’s working to restore the money back to St. Ignatius.