PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia Inquirer
APRIL 15, 2018
by David Gambacorta & John V. Smith – Staff Writers
Seven years ago, Msgr. Joseph McLoone was dispatched to Downingtown with a tall task: to try to stabilize St. Joseph Parish, a Catholic community left shell-shocked after its pastor was charged with protecting priests who preyed on children across the region.
In time, McLoone, a Philadelphia native, proved to be a popular figure at the church, which, with about 4,700 families, is among the largest in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
But this weekend, St. Joseph parishioners learned that his tenure had come to a shocking end. The archdiocese announced that McLoone, 55, had resigned – less than two months after he went on an indefinite leave of absence – amid an investigation into financial improprieties and inappropriate “relationships with adults” that violated archdiocesan standards.
Ken Gavin, the archdiocese’s spokesman, said that in 2011, McLoone allegedly set up an off-the-books bank account in the parish’s name that only he could access. More than $110,000 worth of donations and “other revenue generated by the parish” was funneled into the account, although the archdiocese doesn’t believe the money came from Sunday collections, or school and tuition fees, he said.
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