Northborough priest placed on leave

NORTHBOROUGH (MA)
Boston.com

NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The pastor of a Roman Catholic church in Northborough has been placed on leave while the Diocese of Worcester investigates allegations he stole more than $230,000 from the parish and its school.

Bishop Robert McManus said in a letter to parishioners that the Rev. Stephen Gemme of St. Bernadette Parish was granted a medical leave of absence and placed in residential treatment after the thefts were uncovered in mid-July.

The Telegram & Gazette (http://bit.ly/19ISCu7 ) reports that the bishop said he was informed by a member of the parish school’s advisory board about questionable expenditures from a school account.

McManus said he met with the priest and Gemme acknowledged a gambling problem.

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