From the LVRJ: A federal investigation focused on a popular priest at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Roman Catholic Church in Summerlin has angered some members of the large congregation -- and has church leaders pleading for patience.
Monsignor Kevin McAuliffe was placed on administrative leave in June while what the diocese described as an "allegation of a financial nature" was investigated and a financial audit conducted.
More recently, in parish bulletins and letters, church leaders have made mention of a federal investigation, emphasizing they must wait for its outcome before discussing matters further. Meanwhile, church members say they've heard talk of financial improprieties by the monsignor, but some also are seeking his return to the parish.
In addition to being the church's pastor, McAuliffe also held a high leadership post in the Las Vegas Diocese. He was the vicar general, Bishop Joseph Pepe's principal deputy and second in command. In June, a spokeswoman for the diocese said the allegation involved only St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, and not accounts belonging to the diocese.
As of Friday, no criminal charges had been filed against the longtime priest, who came to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in 1997 and is largely credited with building it into one of the largest Roman Catholic churches in Nevada, according to Father James Jankowski, the man who replaced him at the church on an interim basis. Jankowski made his comments in a church newsletter.
Several phone calls to the FBI and IRS were not returned. Church representatives contacted to discuss the issue instead notified R&R Partners, the state's largest public relations firm. R&R spokeswoman Rachel Wilkinson had no comment pending a resolution.
http://www.lvrj.com/news/priest-s-absence-riles-summerlin-church-130900963.html
A couple of things about his case. First, there have been allegations on my blog from readers that this has to do with financial matters and seems to validate their knowledge of the case. Other allegations have been that McAuliffe has a gambling problem and that is where the money has gone, if in fact there is a crime committed.
http://lasvegasbadger.blogspot.com/2011/06/former-wi-priest-suspended-from-las.html
Second, since the Fed's, including the FBI and IRS, they are examining to see if any federal laws have been broken. For instance, money crossing state lines physically or electronically, not reporting income for tax purposes etc. If this was just a case of allegations of theft, it would be a state or local issue and not involve the Feds. Case in point, in Wisconsin, last year an elderly priest from Watertown, WI. stole over a hundred thousand dollars from his parish and put the money into a Nigerian scam. He was not prosecuted or investigated by the Fed's. It was a local case, prosecuted by the County DA.
Third, I am not sure how far the writer dug into the story and the investigations, but it seems like there has been no search warrant served on the Church or at the Monsignor's house.
4th, the Las Vegas Diocese has hired a large PR firm? You would think with all the employees of the Diocese, they would be handle all of their PR work themselves.
5th, it seems strange that Father Jankowski would ask that the letter writing campaign be halted. Why would he want to say that? Even if they cannot return Monsignor McAuliffe to the pulpit immediately, the Bishop should want to know that Monsignor McAuliffe has the support of the parish. Why would the Diocese not want to know that? Maybe this is a signal to the parish that McAuliffe is not coming back.
Finally, McAuliffe has been gone from SEAS for a little over 3 months and that's a long time for an investigation to take place unless there is a huge money trail. I wonder, if money was taken from the SEAS parish, if the parish has suffered any permanent harm? I kind of doubt it as the lights are still, no one has been laid off and SEAS has a lot of money that comes in every week.
I also wonder who tipped off the Feds? The Diocese, a parishioner, another priest etc.
I further wonder where McAuliffe has been these ast several months? Is he in town or did the Diocese send him off to a monastery to do some soul searching, like many Dioceses have done with wayward priests. If he is in town, has he presided over any mass, visit the sick or infirmed or do any other priest functions?
At this point in time, I not know what to believe. I've met Monsignor McAuliffe many times and thought he was a nice guy but then, sometimes nice guys do stupid things. To have the Fed's involved indicates something more serious is going on and it involves taxes and money being taken over state lines, either personally or electronically.
In the article, the paper said that as of Friday, no charges have been filed. I am wondering if the reporter just put in there or if someone tipped the writer off that something maybe imminent.
No matter how you look at it, this is not good news for McAuliff or the SEAS parish.
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While reading the LVRJ and the update regarding Monsignor Kevin, I couldn’t help but feel heartbroken for the parishioners of SEAS parish. I understand all to well about the frustration of dealing with the Diocese of Las Vegas. I am a parishioner of St Francis of Assisi in Henderson. We also went through anguish as a result of the stonewalling of the Bishop. We had an exemplary priest, Father Mark Gantley, who had been recruited from his position as Judicial Vicar from the Diocese of Hawaii where he served for two years. Prior to his appointment in Hawaii, Father Mark had served in the Diocese of Las Vegas for six years. He was asked to return with the assurance of incardination and the position as pastor of St Francis of Assisi. It was because of these promises he accepted, left Hawaii and came back to Las Vegas, however, when he had been here less than a year, he was told that his services were no longer needed. We were crushed, so we wrote letters and emails to the Bishop to ask why and to beg him to reconsider. We were given no explanation and instead were told that we were not “behaving as children of God.” We continued to fight for our beloved priest. The bishop became so angry with us for questioning him he fired Father Mark on the spot although he had done nothing wrong. (Be careful Father Jim, if you can’t control your parishioners you might be treated like Father Mark was.)
ReplyDeleteWhen Father Mark came to our parish one of the first things he did was open up the books so that we were able to see where our money was being spent. You see Father Mark always told us that this was “our money” and he accounted for every penny. Father Mark treated his parishioners as adults instead of children who were expected to blindly follow. No questions were off limits. He also didn’t play favorites with the “elite” of the parish and instead gave everyone the same respect. We assume that it was his openness in regard to finances and his refusal to kiss up to those who considered themselves superior to the rest of us that caused him to be dismissed. I only wish now that we would have gone to the newspaper, maybe then we could have kept our priest.
I love the Catholic Church and I will never leave it because I have been blessed by knowing priests like Father Mark Gantley. I do not however like the secrecy of the diocese of Las Vegas or the retribution that comes from questioning the Bishop. Although I would like to put my name on this comment, like others who are signed anonymous, I am afraid of retaliation.
Thank you anon. This happens all over the country and probably the world. I had experiences in Wisconsin and North Dakota. They wuld move popular priests to share them with other churches. The Catholic Church does not want it's parish priests and parshioners to get comfortable with each other. I have been told it is because people believe in the priest rather than the Bible. I never believed that.
ReplyDeleteFather Mark was not moved to another parish within the diocese he was fired because hundreds of parishioners of St Francis of Assisi contacted the Bishop and he was angry with us.
ReplyDeleteFather Mark is back in his home diocese and they are fortunate to have him back. It's really a shame because the Diocese of Las Vegas needs priests like Father Mark Gantley. He's a brilliant man, hard working and honest. He is everything a priest should be. We still miss him.
Father Mark just went back to Hawaii, choosing to leave his NY parish. I wish him well, but must say I never heard a less inspired sermon.
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