{"id":12344,"date":"2015-12-17T13:56:00","date_gmt":"2015-12-17T13:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/new-york-archdiocese-responds-to-priest-embezzlement-claims-13678\/"},"modified":"2015-12-17T13:56:00","modified_gmt":"2015-12-17T13:56:00","slug":"new-york-archdiocese-responds-to-priest-embezzlement-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2015\/12\/new-york-archdiocese-responds-to-priest-embezzlement-claims\/","title":{"rendered":"New York Archdiocese responds to priest embezzlement claims"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/p>\n

New York City, N.Y., Dec 17, 2015 \/ 06:56 am (CNA<\/a>).- The Archdiocese of New York says that it takes seriously accusations in a recent lawsuit claiming that a New York priest embezzled money and maintained scandalous personal habits, while also saying that a diocesan investigation has found nothing to substantiate the allegations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Archdiocese has been investigating these allegations for many months, and has repeatedly requested any information or documentation that might substantiate the allegations that have been made,\u201d Joseph Zwilling, communications director for the Archdiocese of New York, told CNA in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThus far, no evidence has been offered, and our forensic audit has thus far failed to uncover evidence of embezzlement,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have been in touch with the District Attorney since the summer, and have promised to turn over anything that might be criminal in nature. We urge anyone with such evidence to do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

The suit alleges that the Fr. Peter Miqueli, former pastor of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Church on Roosevelt Island and St. Frances De Chantal Church in the Bronx, was engaged in a \u201cmillion dollar embezzlement scheme,\u201d taking funds from his former parishes\u2019 collections over the course of a decade.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In addition, the suit alleges, Fr. Miqueli \u201cused the donations to grow his personal wealth, purchase a house in New Jersey, take dozens of international vacations, purchase and use illegal drugs,\u201d and pay for the sexual services of a male escort.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The suit further claims that the Archdiocese of New York, including Cardinal Timothy Dolan, were made aware of the situation, and that the archdiocese confirmed its knowledge in Nov. 2014.<\/p>\n

Fr. Miqueli resigned as pastor of St. Frances de Chantal on Dec. 11, after publication of the allegations in the New York Post.<\/p>\n

Zwilling responded to the situation in a Dec. 11 e-letter to the parishioners of St. Frances de Chantal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He declined to comment on the specific legal matter of the suit, saying the legal matters would best be addressed in court. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Speaking more generally, Zwilling said that the \u201carchdiocese has, from the beginning, taken these allegations seriously, and has been investigating them, including conducting a forensic audit of the parish, which is still on-going.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTo date we have found nothing to substantiate the allegations that have been raised, and, in fact, with regard to the parish finances, we know that the allegation that Father Miqueli stole $1 million from each parish, as was alleged by the plaintiffs\u2019 attorney, is completely false,\u201d Zwilling stated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, he noted, the archdiocese did find Fr. Miqueli \u201chad deficient management and administrative practices,\u201d and that the archdiocese placed forward directives to address those practices.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Zwilling, also noted that auxiliary bishop, Bishop John Jenik, has met with parishioners \u201cin an effort to try to hear their concerns and reach a resolution.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Continuing, Zwilling stated that the archdiocese has asked that those making claims \u201cplease provide us with documentation, but they have thus far failed to do so.\u201d He reiterated his request that anyone with information or documentation contact the Archdiocese or the District Attorney.\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\n\u201cIf, in the course of our ongoing investigation, we find additional information, we will, of course, take appropriate action in response,\u201d the communications director concluded.<\/p>\n

Photo credit:\u00a0Sean Pavone via www.shutterstock.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New York City, N.Y., Dec 17, 2015 \/ 06:56 am (CNA).- The Archdiocese of New York says that it takes seriously accusations in a recent lawsuit claiming that a New York priest embezzled money and maintained scandalous personal habits, while also saying t…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\nNew York Archdiocese responds to priest embezzlement claims<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"New York City, N.Y., Dec 17, 2015 \/ 06:56 am (CNA).- The Archdiocese of New York says that it takes seriously accusations in a recent lawsuit claiming that a New York priest embezzled money and maintained scandalous personal habits, while also saying t...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, 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