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["Toni Hawryluk" <tonihawr AT msn.com>]

http://famulus.msnbc.com/famulusgen/ap10-30-140113.asp?t=apnew&vts=103020041416

 

Church alleges priest ousted over sex abuse allegations also stole money

ASSOCIATED PRESS

SEATTLE, Oct. 30 - A former Roman Catholic priest ousted from the ministry 
for allegedly molesting boys diverted thousands of dollars of church money 
toward personal expenses, in some cases showering his alleged victims with 
gifts, according to a Seattle Archdiocese investigation.

 

     John Cornelius, who was permanently dismissed from the priesthood in 
September, repaid the money after the 1991 investigation and the archdiocese 
later curtailed his authority to deal with parish finances, said Patrick 
Sursely, financial director of the archdiocese. 
       The findings were based on a 1991 investigation of funds used from a 
bequest of about $60,000, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Saturday. 
       ''Our investigation showed there was clear, inappropriate diversion of 
funds,'' Sursely said. The archdiocese found that Cornelius had spent 
thousands of dollars on personal expenses, but Sursely would not say exactly 
how much. 
       Cornelius has not admitted sexually abusing his accusers, but 
apologized in a statement in 2002, saying ''I acknowledge my responsibility 
for my failures and want to express my deep sorrow for what I have done.'' 
       He served in the Seattle Archdiocese from 1975 until he resigned in 
2002 following the first public allegation against him. 
       One alleged victim of Cornelius, Ricky Barquet, said the priest paid 
his high school tuition and paid him handsomely for doing odd jobs. Errol 
Graves, whose son has accused Cornelius, said the priest gave his son two 
cars. 
       There was no immediate comment from Cornelius on the newspaper's 
report Saturday; no telephone listing could be located. 
       A recent study commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops 
found that 18 percent of reported abuse cases by priests involved gifts. 
About 21 percent of reported cases involved gifts or cash, liquor and 
vacations. <>


       Nationwide, church officials acknowledge there was little oversight of 
church funds before the 1980s, the Post-Intelligencer said. Previously, 
priests often controlled church accounts. 



Under new policies, 



most churches have teams of people to handle accounting and finance councils 
oversee the use of donations, said Tod Tamberg, spokesman at the Archdiocese 
of Los Angeles. 


       U.S. Catholics donate more than $6 billion to the church every year, 
but ''the controls you would expect to be in place are simply not there,'' 
said Francis Butler, president of Foundations and Donors Interested in 
Catholic Activities, a network of private foundations that monitors the 
financial practices of charities and the church. 

       On the Net: 
       Archdiocese: http://www.seattlearch.org/<http://www.seattlearch.org/> 
       Foundations and Donors: http://www.fadica.org/<http://www.fadica.org/> 

© 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be 
published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.