Former Parishioners Gather to Observe Man Suspected of Embezzling up to $1 Million
By Calvin R. Trice
Richmond Times-Dispatch [Louisa VA]
January 19, 2007
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Outside, he walked through a gantlet of more than a dozen reporters and photographers.
Inside, more than 20 members of his former parishes waited to see the Rev. Rodney L. Rodis face a criminal charge that he stole their money for years.
Rodis, 50, retired pastor of St. Jude Catholic Church in Mineral and Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Buckner, walked alongside attorney John R. Maus, who fended off questions from the media as they entered Louisa County Circuit Court.
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| The Rev. Rodney L. Rodis (with cane) arrived at Louisa County Circuit Court with lawyer John R. Maus (carrying briefcase) and Maus' assistant Claudia Jenkins (behind Rodis). Photo by Alexa Welch Edlund/Times-Dispatch |
Rodis moved slowly and with the assistance of a cane. He did not use a cane last week when a Times-Dispatch reporter briefly interviewed him at the Spotsylvania home that, according to a court record and neighbors, he shares with a woman and three children.
During the brief hearing, Judge Timothy Sanner told Rodis to return Feb. 26 to let the court know whether he had hired a lawyer. Rodis had not retained Maus as of yesterday and did not enter a plea to the single felony charge of embezzlement.
If convicted, Rodis would face up to 20 years in prison. A native of the Philippines, he is free on $10,000 bond after surrendering his passport.
Larry Fridley, a member of St. Jude, said afterward that he just wanted to see what Rodis might say.
"Utter disappointment" is how Fridley summed up his attitude toward Rodis, his former pastor. "We all loved him."
State police say Rodis may have diverted as much as $1 million in donations intended for the two churches he headed from 1993 until his retirement last year.
Authorities say they are still collecting evidence that could affect the amount considered stolen.
Cindy Honchar, who said she has been a member of St. Jude since Rodis came to the church, said she is now going through canceled donation checks to see whether any were deposited at Virginia Heartland Bank in Fredericksburg.
Authorities believe Rodis set up an account at that bank in a church name, deposited some donations there and used the money for other things.
"You feel sad. You want to be angry, but I just feel sad for our church," said Honchar of Mineral. She was hoping for some answers from yesterday's hearing but left the courtroom disappointed.
She wanted to know: "How could you do this to us, and why?"
She added that she never would have guessed that he might be living in Spotsylvania County with a woman he told neighbors was his wife and with three children.
Catholic priests are supposed to be celibate, and the Catholic Diocese of Richmond does not allow its priests to be married.
The diocese has suspended his ability to exercise his priestly functions, and he did not appear to be wearing a clerical collar in court yesterday.
Rodis sent an e-mail to parishioners Wednesday night asking for prayers and offering to abide by whatever actions the church levies against him, Honchar said.
St. Jude has been raising $775,000 to retire the debt from its recently completed church building. Immaculate Conception also was raising about $100,000 to pay for its just-finished parish hall.
Rodis retired last year, citing medical reasons. He told the diocese he had had a stroke and was undergoing treatment for prostate cancer.
Church officials became aware of financial irregularities in November, when a Pennsylvania donor called a Louisa parish to say he had not received a tax receipt from a 2005 donation.
Using a copy of the donor's canceled check, diocesan officials and state police investigators discovered the previously unknown Fredericksburg bank account that Rodis controlled exclusively.
During the brief hearing, Maus told Sanner that he and Rodis were still trying to work out terms of representation and that he had not been officially retained as Rodis' lawyer.
Contact staff writer Calvin R. Trice at ctrice@timesdispatch.com or (434) 295-9542.
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