BishopAccountability.org
	Catholic Lay Group Seeks Financial Controls By Stephen P. Clark The Advocate [Connecticut] September 30, 2006 http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-nor.votf6 sep30,0,1823672.story?coll=stam-news-local-headlines A Catholic advocacy group wants the Bridgeport Diocese to establish safeguards to avoid further financial misconduct by church leaders, steps the group hopes other dioceses in the country will adopt. Voice of the Faithful, a lay group that emerged in 2002 amid the church sex-abuse scandals, will develop proposals over the next six months that encourage more participation from parishioners and financial accountability from church leaders. The group will present recommendations in April at its annual conference at Fairfield University. More than 30 members of local parishes attended a meeting Thursday night hosted by the group at the First Congregational Church on the Green in Norwalk. Parishioners split into three groups and listed financial questions and concerns. Among the questions were: What's included in a priest's compensation package? Where do the donations go? How much does the bishop make? Recent financial scandals have bolstered the group's mission. A private investigator found that the former pastor of St. John Roman Catholic Church in Darien, the Rev. Michael Jude Fay, spent at least $200,000 on airline tickets, fancy dinners, limousine rides and gifts for himself and another man, Philadelphia wedding planner Cliff Fantini. Fay was forced to resign in May after the scandal broke. An audit commissioned by the Bridgeport Diocese found that $1.4 million in church funds was missing. Other cases that have garnered attention include: Monsignor John Woolsey, a former New York priest, was sentenced last week to four years in prison for stealing tens of thousands of dollars from his parish to finance his lifestyle. Prosecutors said he may have actually stolen more than $800,000. The Rev. Robert Ascolese, a New Jersey pastor, was charged with diverting more than $600,000 from his church in a fraudulent raffle that sold more than 4,000 tickets but never delivered a prize. He pleaded not guilty to the charges last week and was released on bail. Two priests in Florida were accused Thursday of stealing more than $8.6 million from offering baskets and cash gifts. Retired Monsignor John Skehan was arrested Wednesday night and his successor, the Rev. Francis Guinan, is still at large. "We're looking for openness, accountability and transparency, as many other institutions offer in our American society," said John Lee, chairman of Voice of the Faithful. A spokesman for the Diocese of Bridgeport said lay participation, especially in financial accounting, has been a hallmark of Bishop William Lori's five years as head of the diocese. "The diocese has policies and procedures in place to maintain a high standard of financial stewardship and accountability at every parish, Catholic school and other ministries," spokesman Joseph McAleer said in a statement. McAleer said that a set of improved financial controls, created by a new task force with several lay members from the business world, will be unveiled soon. Training will be held for pastors, bookkeepers, business managers and finance councils, he said. Established four years ago, VOTF has grown from a small group in the Boston area to what it says are tens of thousands of members worldwide. Lee became chairman of the Bridgeport branch in June and said he has written the bishop three times asking for a meeting. Lee met with Bridgeport Diocese Chancellor Nancy Matthews this week in what he described as a "positive" first step. Lee said he will continue to write the bishop each month in hopes of establishing a dialogue. "I'm not trying to make trouble for the bishop," he said. "I just want change." Lee said he also wants to clear any misperceptions that the diocese may have about his organization. "We don't have horns. We don't have a tail," he said, "but we have been demonized."
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