03/11/08 - More On The Greenwich Church That Can't Find $400,000 From Don't Tell The Donor .org

Don't Tell the Donor.org

An anonymous source of news and opinions from the world of nonprofit fundraising... whether it's ripped from the headlines or gossip from development offices... these are the stories you might not want to tell the donor.

The New Haven Register is reporting that church officials have concluded their investigation into a Greenwich priest who failed to account for more than $400,000 in church funds he kept in secret accounts.

The newspaper says that the report offers few details on how Moynihan might have spent church money, but it does cite $58,000 used to buy a boat as well as restaurant, travel expenses and a livery service. The article goes on to say:

Moynihan was stripped of his priestly authority after the Bridgeport Diocese learned last month that he shared a Manhattan apartment with another man. Moynihan failed to end that association despite promises to do so, and engaged in “obfuscation” when questioned about church money, Bishop William E. Lori wrote in a letter Thursday to parishioners.

It seems crazy to me the diocese was more concerned with the priest's co-habitation with another man that they were with their terrible internal controls. Then again, it appears that the church never would have found out about the secret accounts unless the F.B.I. tipped them off to the banking deceptions.

Bridgeport diocese officials say they have made “great strides” in implementing a new system of financial procedures and controls in all 87 parishes in Fairfield County. Those steps have become a model for other dioceses, Lori said in a telephone interview Friday.

“I think people can have a great deal of confidence that the donations to the parishes are used well and wisely for the mission of the parish,” Lori said.

Hat tip to Mike Burns (again) at Nonprofit Board Crisis for blogging this story.


EVEN MORE FROM:

Clerical Whispers

Fides - Libertas - Veritas

Priest failed to account for parish money, investigators say

by Sotto Voce

.....Moynihan tried to support one claim by submitting a document purportedly signed by a former judge who served on a scholarship committee.

But the judge denied that the signature was his or that he had ever seen the document or authorized anyone to sign it on his behalf, according to the report.

Moynihan also lied about the existence of the secret accounts and falsely claimed he reimbursed himself for a $1,000 scholarship to a child, according to auditors.....

Clerical Whispers - http://clericalwhispers.blogspot.com/