A Priest's Worrisome Problem

The Telegram & Gazette Staff
October 16, 2013

http://www.telegram.com/article/20131016/NEWS/310169985/-1/NEWS04

It is especially sad when a person answers a high calling, carves a strong niche in the community, but is brought down by human frailty.

In just such a scenario, the Rev. Stephen M. Gemme has been removed from his Northboro post by Bishop Robert M. McManus. And while a fuller picture of the priest as a problem gambler and possibly embezzler waits to emerge, there is enough information to mourn, abhor, and learn from.

According to a letter from the bishop posted on the parish website over the weekend, the pastor of St. Bernadette Parish is suspected of embezzling more than $230,000 in connection with gambling.

Suspect withdrawals noticed by an official with the parish school led to a meeting in July between the priest and the bishop. The 44-year-old priest acknowledged a problem with gambling, and was put on a medical leave of absence to get treatment.

The embezzlement accusation makes this a grave legal case. The diocese correctly contacted the district attorney's office.

Meanwhile, the public must await the full facts. If it is established that the priest embezzled, for whatever purpose, he should be punished as a thief.

But compassion, often, is also society's debt to wrongdoers.

Parishioners and others will have to ask themselves what the right reaction is in their own hearts, once any judicial proceedings have ended. Prayers have been and will be said.

The grips of addiction — of all kinds — affect all kinds of people. Within our own circles of family, friends, work and church, we must be watchful for signs of desperate spiral.

As this case illustrates, mistakes can compound and catch up with, and drastically harm, even the most popular and trusted individuals in our midst.

Father Gemme, who once taught at St. Peter-Marian Junior-Senior High School in Worcester before entering the seminary, is teaching the faithful and other followers of this story about the ugly side of gambling.