The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John's says it will ask the police to investigate the disappearance of more than $500,000.
The archdiocese alleges its own investigation found a former business manager paid the money to himself and his pension account.
"This review uncovered significant discrepancies in the operating
account of the archdiocese," the archdiocese said in a news release
Monday morning.
"We determined that our former comptroller and business
manager made unauthorized payments to himself, and to his pension
account, throughout this period."
Archbishop Mark Currie told CBC News the archdiocese will ask the police to investigate.
"It's a shock for everybody, because he's been with the archdiocese
for roughly 38 years, and everybody had given him their complete trust.
He was trusted fully you know, and he's broken that trust. That's what's
saddest more than anything," Currie told CBC News.
"We have reason to believe that it may have started in 1997, because of payments having been made into other accounts."
The archdiocese said it hired an auditing company last year to review its books going back to 2003.
Bill Power, the archdiocese business manager, resigned from the church last fall.
Power, of Outer Cove, near St. John's, would give "no comment" when called.
Tougher financial guidelines in place
The church says it has brought in tougher financial guidelines since last fall.
The archdiocese covers most of the Avalon Peninsula and also the Burin Peninsula.
Donated money is used to fund chaplaincy services in hospitals such
as the Janeway, St. Clare's, the Health Sciences Centre, the Burin
Peninsula Health Care Centre and the Miller Centre, and in seniors homes
and long-term care facilities.
"We will pursue every appropriate means to recoup as much of the loss
as possible, and thus to ensure that the pastoral services of this
archdiocese may continue and, through them, that the most vulnerable of
our church and society are served and assisted," the release said.
Last October, priests read a letter to parishioners at churches in
eastern Newfoundland saying a business manager with the organization had
resigned recently and an independent auditor had been hired to
investigate the churches' finances.
SIC: CBC/CAN