NEW YORK
ABC 7

[with video]

By Kemberly Richardson

THROGGS NECK, Bronx (WABC) — After morning mass, Timothy Cardinal Dolan addressed allegations that are tearing a Throggs Neck parish apart – not by worshipers, but by the man who once led them – Father Peter Miqueli.

“We’re dealing with a lot of innuendo, a lot of rumors, a lot of gossip – what we have to deal with is the truth,” Cardinal Dolan said.

Frustration is felt by many at St. Frances de Chantal Church and so as not to be a distraction, Miqueli abruptly resigned this weekend by voluntarily stepped down from his post. Just days ago, parishioners sued the embattled priest for allegedly stealing roughly $1 million from St. Frances and his prior church on Roosevelt Island.

One woman claims she has proof that Miqueli used part of the cash to buy a home in New Jersey,…