WORCESTER
Telegram & Gazette
By Steven H. Foskett Jr.
Telegram & Gazette Staff
Posted Mar. 10, 2016 at 6:06 PM
WORCESTER – A priest who pleaded guilty in court last year to stealing nearly $240,000 from St. Bernadette Parish and School in Northboro is returning to limited ministry.
According to the Diocese of Worcester, Bishop Robert J. McManus has granted the Rev. Stephen M. Gemme permission for limited pastoral ministry effective immediately. He will celebrate Mass and other sacraments at Crozier House and other non-parish settings. Crozier House is a residential facility operated by Catholic Charities for men recovering from addictions, according to the diocese.
The bishop removed Rev. Gemme from ministry in July 2013 after being advised by a member of a school advisory board of financial irregularities in one of the school accounts.
The bishop said he met with Rev. Gemme the next day, and the priest admitted to a gambling problem. He pleaded guilty last year in Worcester Superior Court to two counts of larceny of more than $250 by a single scheme, and was placed on probation for 5 years.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.