MICHIGAN
Detroit Free Press
By Robert Allen, Detroit Free Press
June 20, 2015
Banned from his parish for nearly nine months, a popular Catholic priest will return to St. Kenneth in Plymouth after an FBI investigation ended, according to his attorney and the Archdiocese of Detroit.
News of the Rev. Thomas Belczak’s return drew a standing ovation from roughly 500 parishioners attending Saturday evening mass at the church on Haggerty Road near 5 Mile Road.
“Father is not a thief. Father will never be a thief,” said Robert Frigerio, of Plymouth, after attending the Mass. “I’m in tears. I’m a grown man, I’m 73 years old, and I’m in tears.”
Belczak, 61, was removed in October during an investigation into whether he improperly used parish funds — as his brother, also a priest, is accused of doing at a Troy parish.
Thomas Belczak isn’t facing any charges resulting from the investigation. He’ll resume his duties June 27 with a delegate appointed to provide a closer watch over the parish’s finances. An Archdiocese spokesman declined to specify what was found during the investigation, but said in an email that it had “identified concerns” regarding administrative and financial practices at the parish.
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