Complaints of missing money and financial mismanagement at Infant Jesus of Prague Roman Catholic Church in Flossmoor have led to the pastor's temporary removal, a state's attorney's investigation and an archdiocese audit of church funds.The first sign of trouble came two years ago when more than $1,000 in cash was missing from Sunday collections. More questions arose after the pastor, Rev. William E. Killeen, installed a wet bar in the rectory and spent $25,000 on new furniture without consulting the church finance council. In November, the church's business manager was suspended, Chicago archdiocese officials said.
In a letter read during masses Sunday, Cardinal Francis George said the archdiocese was undertaking an audit of parish funds and asking Killeen, 58, to step back from his responsibilities as pastor.
On Monday, the cardinal appointed Rev. Francis Cimarrusti as temporary administrator to oversee the parish's daily operations. Flossmoor police and the Cook County state's attorney's office also are investigating the church financial records, said Susan Burritt, an archdiocese spokeswoman.
"In recent months your parish has had to deal with a number of financial problems," the cardinal said in the letter. "It has not been easy to sort everything out, and I am sorry that you are going through this. Your parish has a long history of being a vibrant place of faith, and I pray that your strong faith will carry you throughout this trying moment."
Long-time parishioners such as Julie Schmidt, who had complained repeatedly about the church's mounting financial problems under Killeen, said the news brought a sense of relief. But church members said Killeen's history should have raised red flags sooner.
Before coming to Infant Jesus of Prague in 2004, Killeen was pastor of St. Christopher Church in Midlothian, where there were similar complaints of missing money and mismanagement. In 2006, St. Christopher's business manager, Jim Nelson, pleaded guilty to theft of more than $100,000 and was sentenced to 3 years in prison. By the time Killeen left, St. Christopher was nearly $1 million in debt.
Archdiocese officials said Killeen could not comment for this story because of the ongoing investigation.
The current investigation at Infant Jesus Church illustrates a larger problem that plagues many Catholic parishes, where churches often operate hefty cash-based budgets with little or no financial oversight. In addition, most pastors and church business managers lack adequate financial training, experts said.
A study released earlier this year by Villanova University found that 85 percent of Catholic dioceses in the U.S. had discovered embezzlement in the last five years, with 11 percent reporting that more than $500,000 had been stolen. Charles Zech, director of Villanova's Center for the Study of Church Management, said priests and church employees are often faced with temptation too hard to resist.
"The basic underlying problem here is, we're too trusting," Zech said. "In a church, you would never expect a priest to embezzle. You would never expect a parish staffer to embezzle. So, in practice, we don't put in the kinds of internal financial controls that are common in the business world. I have friends who work in the business world, who work in cash-based businesses like the church, and they're appalled by ... the lack of internal financial controls."
During Killeen's time at Infant Jesus, he went through three church business managers. Doug Peterson, the first business manager, said that when the new pastor arrived he made several controversial changes in the church's financial procedures.
Peterson said Killeen changed the church signature policy so Peterson was a signer on the church account. For Peterson, who had been the church business manager for 10 years, that change was contrary to archdiocese recommendations and also likely to cause suspicion.
Peterson and several parishioners said Killeen also repeatedly ignored advice from the church's finance council on balancing the church budget. Worried about a costly church renovation, Peterson recommended the project be put on hold. Killeen objected, taking out an archdiocese loan to cover costs.
Many parishioners became livid when they discovered Killeen had spent $25,000 to remodel the rectory and install a wet bar. On Memorial Day weekend 2005, when money went missing from collections, Peterson said Killeen was hesitant to investigate the theft, saying there was no reason to believe the money was stolen. In September 2005, Killeen fired Peterson.
The second business manager served only a month. Last month, the third business manager was suspended without pay, archdiocese officials said.
The business manager has not been charged with a crime.
Flossmoor Deputy Police Chief Mike Pulec said detectives are investigating allegations that church funds were improperly used and had contacted the state's attorney's office for assistance with the investigation.
Schmidt, who served on the finance council, said Killeen became upset when members of the finance council questioned his financial decisions. One by one, he eventually removed them from the board. But, soon, a small group of church members banded together through e-mails and town hall meetings, and alerted the archdiocese to the church problems.
"We're extremely happy that the cardinal gave us this sign," Schmidt said. "I feel like he's saying it's appropriate for us to stand up for our parish."
With a temporary administrator in place, Schmidt now hopes the church can move forward to healing for the holidays.
"I know we still have work ahead and need to figure out how to get out of this debt. But I'm hoping that now we can get back to being a faith community, and not a church constantly worried about finances."
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