Diocese of Richmond won’t change its policies:
The Catholic Diocese of Richmond may change little about its financial practices, at least immediately, in the wake of embezzlement scandals at three churches.
The diocese is recommending to parishes that contributions be counted by two unrelated parishioners, a guideline officials hope can help prevent a theft from the collection plate, as an employee of St. Peter Catholic Church in Richmond is accused of doing last year.
However, the diocese will likely still empower priests alone to open bank accounts for parishes, diocesan spokesman Steve Neill said yesterday. That is how, police say, the Rev. Rodney L. Rodis allegedly embezzled as much as $1 million from two Louisa County parishes. "That’s still going to stand. That is not going to change," Neill said.
Neill said the letter that a priest receives from the bishop naming the pastor as fiscal agent for a particular parish is rooted in canon, or church, law. Diocesan officials cited a section of canon law that says the pas- tor is the representative of the parish and is responsible for administering the goods of the parish.
The Rev. Ladislas Orsy, an expert in canon law at Georgetown University, said he knows of nothing in church law that would prohibit the diocese from requiring multiple signatures to open a bank account.
"The diocese is perfectly entitled to say one signature or two signatures or three signatures," Orsy said. "It is the duty of the diocese to set up a system that includes accountability. There is no reason why the diocese cannot set up checks and balances."
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Neill said whatever the financial system, the issue ultimately comes down to trust.
"You just have to trust people," he said, "and Christians are not going to give up their sense of trust."
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