An independent Catholic denomination with its global headquarters in Columbus has disbanded, having been torn apart after publicity about the criminal backgrounds of its top leader and a former priest. Critics of former Archbishop Phillip Zimmerman of the Reformed Catholic Church say he covered up his 2005 felony conviction and allowed participation by a convicted child molester.
Those loyal to Zimmerman say that disgruntled former clergy members launched baseless attacks in an effort to take power.
Zimmerman resigned last week because "I was becoming the focus of controversy," he said Wednesday.
The church's bishops then voted to dissolve the denomination, which was founded in 2000.
Individual parishes probably will continue to operate.
Most Reformed Catholic congregations rent space or meet in homes, and none received funding from the Columbus headquarters.
Z
immerman said he will continue to serve at the Ascension of Our Lord Basilica on E. Broad Street on the Near East Side, which will stay open.
He wouldn't rule out organizing a new denomination.
Zimmerman is the executive director of the Pater Noster House, a nonprofit organization that serves those with HIV and AIDS.
That job is independent of his church affiliation.
The Reformed Catholic Church was one of many independent Catholic movements that distinguish themselves from the Roman Catholic Church.
Among the differences: The Reformed denomination did not recognize the Roman pope, Pope Benedict XVI, as its leader, it allowed women to be ordained, and it did not consider homosexual behavior a sin.
Its membership numbers are difficult to pin down, but Zimmerman has estimated the worldwide body at 200,000.
A Web site lists six parishes and missions in Ohio; it's unclear if they all have a physical address.
At the Ascension of Our Lord Basilica, the most-attended Sunday Mass might have 30 or 40 people, said Bishop Marcis Heckman (pictured in clericals), the church rector.
Zimmerman came under fire when e-mails and Internet postings pointed out that a convicted child molester and former priest was allowed to participate in the denomination's annual meeting in October.
Sean-Michael Lyons (pictured in sweatshirt) wore vestments and sat with priests during Masses.
Then, news of Zimmerman's own conviction circulated online.
Zimmerman, whose full name is George Richard Phillip Zimmerman, pleaded guilty in 2005 to fraud for his role in a scheme that cost the U.S. Department of Education more than $533,000.
At the time, Zimmerman was executive director of Metro Technical Institute of Oak Park, Mich.
Prosecutors said school officials executed a plan to obtain government funding for ineligible students and failed to return those funds.
The scheme involved false documents in student files to deceive government inspectors, according to a release from the U.S. attorney's office in Detroit.
Zimmerman was sentenced in 2007 to 36 months on probation and was ordered to pay more than $550,000 in restitution.
Some church members knew about his conviction, he said.
But the Rev. Michel Holland (pictured, in glasses) of Fort Wayne, Ind., said Zimmerman tried to 
hide it.
After Lyons' criminal background surfaced, Holland said, he asked Zimmerman, "Is there anything else I don't know?"
Holland said that Zimmerman told him, "No, I've searched my conscience, and I can't for the life of me think of anything."
Zimmerman was lax about background checks, said the Rev. Chris Tobin (pictured) of Philadelphia, who was kicked out of the church in October by a leader other than Zimmerman.
Tobin said his dismissal was for questioning authority. Zimmerman said that Tobin's dismissal wasn't his decision and that he invited Tobin back.
The ordaining of Lyons as a priest after he had been convicted of child molestation in the 1980s shows that "background checks were not completed, and people were not vetted before they were given leadership positions in the church," Tobin said.
Tobin, a former bishop over congregations from New York to West Virginia, said he had requested background checks on clergy members but was told by Zimmerman not to worry about it.
"So many of us wondered why background checks were not important," Tobin said. "These people have criminal records, and now it's like, 'Oh my God, no wonder they don't want to do background checks.' "
For his part, Zimmerman has acknowledged that his background-check system, which relied mostly on local law-enforcement records, was not comprehensive enough.
He was too trusting, he said, and now he's paying with the loss of his denomination.
"The church that had no outcasts has one outcast," he said. "And that's me."
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