By Lauresha Xhihani
Waterbury Republican-American
June 22, 2010
http://www.rep-am.com/news/local/490709.txt
WATERBURY -- Officials at the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford let the pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Waterbury go for seven years without filing required financial reports because he had a reputation as a sound financial manager and officials believed he suffered from a life-threatening illness.
That priest, the Rev. Kevin J. Gray, is now suspected of stealing $1 million in parish funds.
The archdiocese received no yearly financial reports for any of the years that Gray was the pastor of Sacred Heart-Sagrado Corazon Church. The Rev. John P. Gatzak, a spokesman for the archdiocese, said Gray filed one financial report in 2003, the year he took over Sacred Heart, covering 2002, a year when another priest was heading the church.
The archdiocese received no other yearly financial filings from Gray. The statement submitted by Gray in 2003 was not signed by any members of the church's financial council.
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| Sacred Heart Church, on Wolcott Street in Waterbury, is the former home of The Rev. Kevin J. Gray. The Archdiocese of Hartford alleges Gray embezzled $1 million in parish funds and lied about having a life-threatening form of cancer. Photo by Christopher Massa |
"It appears that Father Gray disbanded the financial council" when he took over the church, said Gatzak.
Church canon law requires the church have a financial council. Sacred Heart had no financial council and no parish council during the time Gray was there, Gatzak said.
Gray, 64, has admitted to diverting money from a savings account that would have paid for building renovations and church debt. The archdiocese contacted police after accountants discovered improprieties during a routine review of the church's financial records earlier this year.
Church officials had been trying to review church financial records since July 2009, but were unable to conduct the review until earlier this year.
Gatzak said the archdiocese had given Gray some leeway with submitting yearly financial statements because of his health.
Church officials were under the impression that Gray was suffering from "a life-threatening illness." Parishioners thought Gray had cancer.
"There is reason to believe that he may have not been totally truthful regarding his health situation," Gatzak said.
Gatzak would not elaborate.
Gatzak said another reason Gray was allowed to get away with not filing the financial statements was his work and reputation. He served as priest in Waterbury for more than 20 years, including St. Margaret's Church from 1993 to 2000 and St. Cecilia's Church from 2001 to 2003. St. Cecilia's parishioners became part of Sacred Heart in 2005, increasing the membership to 1,200.
Gatzak said there was no money missing from either St. Margaret's or St. Cecilia's. When a priest takes over a church, part of his job is to go over the financial records of the parish. Records for both those churches were in order.
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