METUCHEN (NJ)
Star-Ledger [Newark NJ]
August 2, 2021
By Kelly Heyboer
Two months after one of its priests admitted in court to pocketing $516,000 in parish funds, a New Jersey Catholic diocese is introducing a multi-step system that will allow people to anonymously report financial misconduct in their parishes.
The Diocese of Metuchen — which includes churches in Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren counties — is partnering with an ethics consulting company to set up a telephone and online system to gather reports of ethics violations in its parishes, schools and cemeteries, church officials said.
The diocese already has systems in place for people to confidentially report allegations of clergy sexual abuse, but it has become clear parishes also needs a way for people to report theft, fraud and other financial problems, said Anthony P. Kearns 3rd, chancellor of the Diocese of Metuchen.
“Day after day in the news, we are reminded that we live in an imperfect world. This system gives us the opportunity to more clearly see the imperfections borne by our own humanity and, more importantly, allows us the opportunity to correct them,” Kearns said.
The diocese is using NAVEX Global’s EthicsPoint, a confidential reporting structure used by private companies and other Catholic dioceses around the country. Under the system, people can call a hotline at (844) 796-1296 or file a report through an independent website (diometuchen.ethicspoint.com).
Then, an EthicsPoint communication specialist reviews the allegation and sends the report to a local review committee, unless the report names someone on the committee. All reports can be filed anonymously.
“Our hope is for people to come forward with any information about financial or ethical behavior they find questionable, and for that to happen they need to have confidence in our systems. This independent system offers that assurance,” Kearns said.
In May, the Rev. Douglas J. Haefner, the former pastor of St. Matthias Parish in Somerset, admitted in court to diverting $516,000 in parish money into his personal account. He is scheduled to be sentenced in August.
Haefner, 68, said the theft was due to personal and emotional problems that led to his “compulsive behavior.”
It is unclear how Haefner was able to take large sums of money from St. Matthias without anyone noticing. Diocese officials first noted the parish’s financial problems in 2016, but Haefner repeatedly asked to reschedule an audit due to health problems and the need for more time to prepare, church officials said.
When the delayed audit finally began in 2018, the pastor admitted to taking the money and the case was turned over to law enforcement, church officials said.
The diocese already began revising its financial reporting practices before Haefner’s case, diocese officials said.
Last year, the diocese created a new Office of Parish and Financial Services to oversee an audit process in each parish. Each parish is expected to file annual reports, have a financial council overseeing its money and undergo independent audits every two or three years, according to the rules.
The Diocesan Finance Council — which is made up to mostly non-clergy members who are experts in the financial field — and a special committee created to make suggestions for changes to the current system recommended hiring EthicsPoint to create a third-party way for people to report problems in their parishes.
The new system is designed to field only allegations of financial misconduct, theft, fraud and other violations to the diocese’s ethics code — not sexual abuse allegations.
Any allegations of sexual abuse by priests or others in the church should continue to be reported to law enforcement by calling 1-877 NJ ABUSE and reported to the Diocese of Metuchen’s Director of Child and Youth Protection at (908) 930-4558, officials said.
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com.