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	Churches Need to Do More to Prevent Financial Fraud By Peter Panepento The Chronicle of Philanthropy July 25, 2007 http://philanthropy.com/giveandtake/index.php?id=248 United States — should disclose more information to the public about their finances, he says. Mr. Prives, on his blog, Where Most Needed points to a recent case involving the Rev. Rodney Lee Rodis, a priest in Virginia who is accused of diverting money from his congregation to support his wife and three children. The lawyer defending Father Rodis has filed a motion to dismiss the case, saying that the issue is a private church matter. Mr. Prives, however, says that the case should continue. In fact, a recent study by Villanova University researchers found that the vast majority of Catholic dioceses had discovered embezzlement by employees or volunteers from 2000 to 2005. Such findings suggest that churches need to be more open in reporting their finances, Mr. Prives says. "As long as supervision of parish priests continues to be so lax, these kind of incidents will continue to occur," he writes. Should churches be more forthcoming with their financial information, even though federal law does not require them to publicly file such information? Click on the comments link below this post to share your thoughts. Contact: Peter Panepento peter.panepento@philanthropy.com
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