WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
By Bronislaus B. Kush TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
bkush@telegram.com
WORCESTER — Bishop Robert J. McManus has issued directives to local pastors aimed at making parish finances more “transparent” and ensuring the proper use of contributions to the church.
The action comes in the wake of the alleged embezzlement earlier this year of $230,000 by a Northboro priest, who reportedly used the money to feed a gambling habit.
In a letter dated Nov. 22 that was released by the chancery this week, Bishop McManus told his pastors that the issue of “financial transparency” is a major concern in the church and that there cases, both locally and nationally, in which contributed funds have been misappropriated.
“We have a shared duty as pastors and as diocesan administrators to demonstrate responsible stewardship of the resources entrusted to us in carrying out the mission of the Catholic Church,” wrote the bishop. “I am confident that none of us takes that responsibility lightly.”
He said that a series of checks and balances must be in place to demonstrate that donations are being used to accomplish agreed-upon goals or to show whether contributions are able to sustain a parish’s budget.
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