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	Roxbury Priest Resigns after Audit Shows Missing Funds, Diocese Lawyer Says By Dan Goldberg The Star-Ledger August 23 2010 http://www.nj.com/news/local/index.ssf/2010/08/roxbury_priest_leaves_after_au.html The pastor of St. Therese Roman Catholic Church resigned one week after an audit showed an undisclosed sum of money missing from the 2,800-family parish in Succasunna, according to Kenneth Mullaney, attorney for the Paterson Diocese. The Rev. Joseph Davis, who had been an administrator at the church for more than two decades, took ill last fall, Mullaney said, and was hospitalized for several months. Because he was on medical leave, the church sought to put in place a temporary administrator. "Standard operating procedure is that when a temporary administrator is appointed, the diocese conducts an audit," Mullaney said. "It was discovered that there was a sum that was unaccounted for." Mullaney did not know when the last audit had been conducted but said he believed that audits were performed regularly every three years. Father Bob Hooper took over as administrator and informed his congregants on Sunday that money was found to be missing. The news shocked congregants, said Joanne Heyert, who said she has attended the church for more than 20 years. "This is not something we want to hear," Heyert said. "We hope it isn’t the case but we don’t know. The information has been sketchy." Davis is a popular and well-respected member of the community, Heyert said. He resigned on July 19, one week after the audit was conducted, "for the good of the parish," according to a statement from the Paterson Diocese. Mullaney did not know how much money was missing but said he immediately referred the matter to the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, which is investigating. "We hope we will find out what’s going on," Heyert said.
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