Study finds embezzlement to be common in dioceses

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, January, 2007 | by David O'Reilly

A new study by Villanova University has found that 85 percent of Roman Catholic dioceses in the United States have discovered embezzlement during the last five years, with 11 percent having been embezzled out of more than a half-million dollars each. Twenty-nine percent of dioceses answering the survey reported embezzlements of less than $50,000, according to authors Robert West and Charles Zech.

"As with any crime statistics, you can view the news in two ways," Zech said in an interview yesterday. "You can say it's bad news there's a lot of embezzlement, or you can say we're catching the crimes. But still, I think it's bad news. There's far more of this than there should be." The study said the high rate of embezzlement reflected a lack of professionalism in financial...