St. Augustine-OLV parishioners charge $$ irregularities
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Zeta Bronx 1
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BRONX TIMES R 8 EPORTER, MARCH 8-14, 2019 BTR
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Zeta Bronx 1 Zeta Inwood 1
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
A group of parishioners
are at odds with their pastor
concerning his accounting of
church funds.
The Concerned Parishioners
of St. Augustine-Our Lady
of Victory wrote to the Archdiocese
of New York about the
concerns they have about the
pastor of their church.
“We sent letters to the Archdiocese
and Timothy Cardinal
Dolan and his response to each
of us was a generic response,”
reads a statement from the
group. “The Concerned Parishioners
are extremely concerned
about the irregularities
in our church.”
The Archdiocese of New
York advised the group to contact
an archdiocese offi cial
to investigate the parish’s fi -
nances.
Among the allegations
raised by the group was the
pastor, Father George Stewart,
hasn’t produced an annual fi -
nancial statement since 2015;
dismissed a Roman Catholic
nun, Sr. Dorothy Hall, who ran
the church’s food pantry, when
the program should have had
ample funds to keep her and the
pantry going; involves himself
A group of parishioners at Our Lady of Victory – St. Augustine on Webster
Avenue have written to the Archdiocese of New York to express concern
concerning parish management. Schneps Media / Patrick Rocchio
in counting the parishioner’s
weekly tithes; and comingled
parish funds earmarked for the
pantry and other specifi c uses
for general church purposes.
Darlyne Lawson, one of the
members of the Concerned Parishioners,
went so far as to request
a forensic accounting of
the parish’s fi nances.
“There is a complete lack of
transparency,” said Lawson,
alleging: “We feel that there
could be malfeasance.”
The group alleged that several
people who had raised concerns
with the pastor regarding
his accounting practices were
fi red, ostracized or ignored.
Hall said that at one point
she was a cosignatory on parish
accounts and had access to
the bank records.
“He is the only one counting
the Sunday collection…(and)
uses the pulpit as a bully pulpit,”
said parish member Claire
Harris
The group provided the
Bronx Times with bank records
alleging the comingling
of separate accounts, adding:
• there is no bank deposit record
listing the approximately
$33,000 a month in rent the parish
receives from Harriet Tubman
Charter School;
• there was no report made
concerning the church benefactors’
contributions, such
as the $33,000 that was in the
“food pantry director’s special
account.”
• when asked about the
comingling of an account that
was primarily earmarked for
the food pantry with general
church funds, that the pastor
responded in anger telling
Hall, the director, that the
money was used to pay food
pantry bills, which the group
believes was fully funded.
• the United Way sent the
church a check for $1,250 earmarked
for food pantry volunteers,
and that the check was
deposited in a restricted account
on July 10, 2017, but the
funds were never dispersed.
An Archdiocese of New
York spokesperson stated that
in the past, the group has contacted
them with other issues,
such as the parish council committees
or conditions of bathrooms,
and so far as it is known
never gave the Archdiocese
permission to share the letter’s
contents with Fr. Stewart.
“The Archdiocese of New
York takes seriously allegations
of fi nancial impropriety,”
stated the spokesman. “I
would therefore encourage the
parishioners who contacted
you...to write to the chief fi nancial
offi cer of the archdiocese,
Mr. William Whiston, to share
their specifi c concerns so that
they might be investigated and
responded to.”
In a statement, Stewart said
that since becoming pastor he
has been in regular contact
with the archdiocese fi nancial
offi ce in order to be sure
the parish is in compliance
with all fi nancial protocols and
procedures. Stewart said that
in order to achieve transparency,
the parish presently has
the oversight of an accountant
and separate bookkeeper. His
accounts are reconciled each
month and the software is used
that makes the fi nances fully
viewable by archdiocesan authorities,
said Stewart.
He also said that in the past
year the parish completed a full
audit of parish and pantry.
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