The Cleveland Catacombs

Diocese of Cleveland ex-CFO [accused of accepting more than $750,000 from an accounting firm he had hired to work for the diocese] to get Same Job with Diocese of Columbus

http://www.cleveland.com/search/index.ssf?/base/living/1093029328165640.xml?lrnew

Diocese ex-CFO to get same job in Columbus

Cleveland official resigned under a cloud of suspicion

Friday, August 20, 2004

James F. McCarty
Plain Dealer Reporter

The deposed chief financial officer of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese has a new job as the next CFO of the Diocese of Columbus.

Joseph Smith resigned from the Cleveland diocese in January under a cloud of suspicion, accused of accepting more than $750,000 from an accounting firm he had hired to work for the diocese.

The FBI is investigating the payments, and the diocese's insurance company reportedly has filed a claim against Smith to recoup the money - neither of which apparently deterred the Columbus diocese from hiring him as its new finance director.

A Cleveland diocesan official said the Columbus diocese was made aware of the criminal investigation, as well as the circumstances of Smith's leaving after more than 20 years of employment in the state's largest diocese.

"No recommendation concerning employment was requested, and none was provided," said spokesman Bob Tayek, reading from a news release.

Few people involved were willing to talk about Smith's hiring when contacted Thursday.

Several phone messages left with Smith were not returned. Real-estate records show he has listed his five-bedroom, 5½-bathroom brick home in Avon Lake for sale. Asking price: $579,900.

Tayek confirmed there is a criminal investigation but declined to comment further. FBI special agent Bob Hawk declined to acknowledge that an investigation exists.

Robin Miller, a spokeswoman for the Columbus dio cese, confirmed that Smith recently was hired as its director of finance, and that he would take over the job from the outgoing chief financial officer in October.

Miller could not confirm Tayek's claim that Columbus diocesan officials were told of the criminal investigation.

Bishop James Griffin, head of the Columbus diocese, previously served as assistant chancellor in Cleveland before taking over the Ohio capital diocese in 1983. He was attending a bishops conference in Michigan on Thursday and was unavailable for comment.

Several lay people with ties to the Cleveland diocese, but who asked not to be named, said Griffin is well-acquainted with Smith, 47, the Cleveland diocese's former highest-ranking and highest-paid lay employee.

Smith owns a marketing firm called Tee Sports Inc. that runs golf tournaments, including charity events for the Columbus and Cleveland dioceses.

Smith's downfall in Cleveland began after documents were sent anonymously in December to the diocese and a lawyer. The documents detailed the flow of money from a Mentor-based accounting business operated by Anton Zgoznik to companies affiliated with his friend, Smith. Checks for "consulting fees" totaling $750,000 were written to Smith's companies over six years.

The accounting firm of Ernst & Young recently completed an investigation of the Zgoznik- Smith transactions, and the findings were turned over to the diocese's insurance company for review, Tayek said. He declined to provide details.

A layman with knowledge of the case said the insurance company paid an unspecified damage claim to the Cleveland diocese, then filed a claim against Smith to recoup the money.

If Smith fails to pay, the insurance company likely would sue Smith for damages, the layman said.

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My thoughts.


To me, this sounds like a pay off for Joe Smith to keep his mouth shut. Could it have anything to do with the other FBI investigation into the actions of Bishop Pilla?

You might want to look at this story that appeared on Freerepublic a while back and start connecting some dots. But could these people really be so stupid...and so corrupt???


FBI Investigating Cleveland's Bishop Pilla?

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Bishop Pilla on Communion to Pro-abortion Politicians Kathleen Willet Redle, M.F.A. Pilla on giving Communion to pro-abortion politicians On the topic of giving Communion to pro-abortion politicians, journalist Colette Jenkins, who was present at a meeting with the Bishop and 35 politicians, reported these words of Bishop Anthony M. Pilla: “The altar is a place of unity, healing, nourishment and grace. It is not a place for confrontation ... In my view, the battles for human life and dignity and for the weak and vulnerable should be fought not at the Communion rail, but in the public square, in hearts and minds, in our pulpits and public advocacy, in our consciences and communities.'' (Colette Jenkins, "Politics, sacrament don't mix, Bishop says," in the Akron Beacon Journal, July 2004). This vague language means that the Bishop would give Communion to so-called Catholic lawmakers such as John Kerry and Ted Kennedy, who for years have been writing and promoting pro-abortion laws while voting against pro-life laws that would save unborn babies. In the same meeting, Pilla continued: “The view of refusing Communion to politicians who support keeping abortion legal is not part of the pastoral tradition of the Church …. Given the long standing practice of not making a public judgment about the state of the soul of those who present themselves for Communion, the pastoral tradition of the church places the responsibility of such a judgment first on those presenting themselves for Holy Communion” (ibid). What kind of “newspeak” and double talk is this? It is the same old post Vatican II ploy, claiming that it’s not “pastoral” to correct error and too “judgmental” to correct bad practice and false teaching. Let’s just move merrily along, holding hands and dancing into apostasy! What does the Church really teach about giving Communion to notorious public sinners? Code of Canon Law of 1983, canon 915 reads: “Those upon whom the penalty of excommunication or interdict has been imposed or declared, and others who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin, are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.” Canon 916 reads: “Anyone who is conscious of grave sin may not celebrate Mass or receive the Body of the Lord without previously having been to sacramental confession, unless there is a grave reason and there is no opportunity to confess; in this case the person is to remember the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition, which includes the resolve to go to confession as soon as possible.” The law requires three grave elements before the sacraments are denied: • That the person is in mortal sin, which indicates a serious offence against God. A procured abortion, objectively, is a mortal sin with the penalty of excommunication for the one who aborts and all who take part, including the doctors, nurses, and politicians who promote it. • That the person overtly and publicly rejects the principles of the Church. • That the person ““persists in his obstinacy”” and deliberately perseveres in his sinful actions. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “Scandal is grave when given by those who by nature of office are obliged to teach and educate others.” Further, “They are guilty of scandal who establish laws or social structures leading to the decline of morals....” (§§ 2285-2286). What did Jesus do to the money changers and how did he describe the Scribes and Pharisees of his day? He called these leaders a brood of vipers, like whited sepulchers outwardly beautiful but within full of dead men’s bones. Then he used a whip to clear them out of the Temple, declaring, “My house shall be called the house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves!” (Mt 23:27,33, Mt 21:12, Jn 2:14-15). What is happening to God’s house of prayer today? Look around and you see the chaos and lack of clear teaching authority everywhere! Some characteristics of Bishop Pilla’s “pastoral” Who are these spiritual leaders today who shirk their responsibility to shepherd the Church? This article will illustrate one such remiss shepherd. You can probably think of several others yourself, given the level of spiritual and sexual abuse that is going on in the Catholic Church today. What did past Shepherds have to say about such negligent behavior in protecting the flock? • Our Lord called these men “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” • Pope Leo I said, "He that sees another in error and endeavors not to correct it, testifies himself to be in error." • Pope St. Felix III said: "Not to oppose error is to approve it; and not to defend truth is to suppress it, and indeed to neglect to confound evil men when we can do so is not less a sin than to encourage them." . One such Shepherd who does very little to protect orthodox teaching, while promoting heterodox practices, is Bishop Anthony M. Pilla of the Cleveland and former president of the USCCB. Pilla’s sanction of the homosexual dissident group “Dignity” is chronicled in Atila Guimarães’ book Vatican II, Homosexuality & Pedophilia (pp. 91-2) as well as various sexual abuse problems and unorthodox goings-on in his Diocese. These include Bishop Pilla’s foot washing of a woman who had been abused by a diocesan priest, Fr. Marin Louis, when she was 8-years-old. It is a terrible thing that this woman had been abused (this Diocese has covered up many other sex abuse of minors by priests), but it was also wrong for the Bishop to wash her feet when it was forbidden by Rome, since the ceremony of foot washing is a symbol of the all male priestly ordination. Foot washing is a clear sign of ordination that Christ instituted at the Last Supper when he washed the feet of his Apostles. Bishop Pilla was a pioneer in having altar girls even before a Vatican document permitted this condemned practice. Benedict XIV in the Encyclical Allatae sunt, July 26, 1755, summarizes the opposition of two Popes to women serving at Mass: "Pope Gelasius in his ninth letter (chap. 26) to the Bishops of Lucania condemned the evil practice which had been introduced of women serving the priest at the celebration of Mass. Since this abuse had spread to the Greeks, Innocent IV strictly forbade it in his letter to the Bishop of Tusculum: 'Women should not dare to serve at the altar; they should be altogether refused this ministry.' We too have forbidden this practice in the same words ...." (n. 29). Another point of the feminist agenda is the introduction of women on the altar by means of liturgical dance. Like Salome dancing for Herod, these dancers try to charm and convince the Bishops they are indispensable for the liturgy. Bishop Pilla allows liturgical dance in his Diocese. Altar girls were first forbidden, then accepted by the present day Vatican, as can happen with this other form of feminine presence on the altar. I hope it will not happen. In the Cleveland Diocese, Ursuline nuns are teaching the following occult and pagan superstitions to Catholics: Jewish Kabbalah, Tai Chi meditation, Yoga, Shamanism, Chakras, Feng Shui and Reiki. Further they are promoting the Gnostic book The Da Vinci Code. This is one of four New Age “Health and Wellness” centers which the Bishop Pilla promotes. In the April/May 2004 bulletin these centers hosted “Healing Yourself Through Mandalas” (1).The official Diocese of Cleveland website has a page for its ambiguous "Gay and Lesbian Ministry." (2) Whosoever would apply these principles to the concrete situation of Catholics who support or promote abortion would necessarily conclude that they are forbidden to receive the Holy Eucharist. Notwithstanding, Bishop Anthony Pilla teaches the opposite. For this reason, after reading Bishop Pilla’s statements, I addressed a letter to the editor to the Akron Beacon Journal, with a copy sent to Bishop Pilla. I transcribe it as my conclusion to this article. “Regarding Bishop Pilla’s favorable stand in giving Communion to supposedly Catholic pro abortion politicians: “So how is it "pastoral" or in "Church History," as Bishop Pilla suggested, to allow pro-abortion politicians the privilege of receiving Our Lord’s Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in Holy Communion? Would his fellow Bishop Pope St. Peter have given Communion to a so-called converted Caesar who continued to make pro abortion laws? “Any unborn life that is snuffed out because of the laws of pro-abortion politicians protected by Bishop Pill to receive Holy Communion (which condemns them) is worth more than Bishop Pilla’s empty and contradictory words or John Kerry’s actions. These two deserve each other. In contrast I give you Christ’s words, Mt 18:6 "But he that shall scandalize (harm) one of these little ones that believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea. “Finally, Bishop Pilla, look at the Diadache’s words (c. 65 A.D.) :2:2 ‘Thou shalt do no murder, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not corrupt boys, thou shalt not commit fornication, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not deal in magic, thou shalt do no sorcery, thou shalt not murder a child by abortion nor kill them when born, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's goods, thou shalt not perjure thyself, thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt not speak evil. “This is what we are not seeing nor hearing in your words. There is too much heresy and scandal in this diocese and the buck stops with you.” K.W.R. Article originally appeared here:http://traditioninaction.org/HotTopics/a023htPilla.htm

Group Seeks to Purchase Catholic Radio Station in Cleveland

From http://www.runningoff.blogspot.com/ :

We need Catholic Radio in Cleveland. And we are very close to getting it!

There are over 15,000 radio stations in this country.

Of these, over 1,500 are Protestant stations.

Less than fifty are Catholic stations.

In Cleveland, there are several Protestant religious stations and no Catholic stations.

The recent scandals have discouraged many Catholics in the Diocese of Cleveland.

We can sit back and condemn those who have failed or we can step up and help carry the cross.

Our Lord instructed us:

Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

Hail Holy Queen Communications has been offered a wonderful opportunity to purchase a radio station in Cleveland. Your prayers are desperately needed for this effort.

Please visit the Hail Holy Queen Communications website to learn more about Hail Holy Queen and how you can support this effort: http://www.hailholyqueen.org

I have one more request. This e-mail is being sent to over 600 Cleveland Catholics. If everyone who receives this e-mail forwards it to 10 more Catholics and then those Catholics forward it to their friends and relatives, we can quickly spread this news to tens of thousands Catholics in the northeastern Ohio area. Here is a chance to evangelize and do something very positive in our diocese. Thank you for your help,

Learn the truth about Kerry and his Band of Brothers:

http://www.swiftvets.com/

Pro-abortion Dennis KUCINICH:
"I would refrain from Communion if Bishop Pilla asked me to, but the bishop has not done so."

Kucinich's press secretary, Kathie Scarrah, in May of 2003: "He absolutely believes in the sanctity of life and that life begins at conception."

Kucinich in a letter to the Plain Dealer: "I don't believe in abortion; few do. I do, however, believe in choice."

Kucinich in interview with the San Francisco Chronicle: "I am going to continue to take a thoughtful approach, and that doesn't preclude the poor from having the government support their right to choose."

Kucinich to Tim Russert after his flip-flop: "The position I'm taking now is an expansion; it's not a reversal."

From Kucinich for President website:

In a Kucinich administration, a woman's right-to-choose will be protected as essential to personal privacy and gender equality. Only those who agree to uphold Roe v. Wade will be nominated for the Supreme Court. Civil rights (and voting rights) enforcement will be intensified. Lesbians and gays will be afforded complete equality throughout society, including in marriage. Affirmative action will be maintained as a tool for racial and gender equality. Drug policy will emphasize treatment over criminalization, and not a rampaging war that erodes Constitutional freedoms, privacy, and law enforcement resources. An end to capital punishment will be sought.

From the July 23, 2004 Cleveland Plain Dealer :

U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, a Cleveland Democrat who became an abortion rights supporter last year, said he would abstain if his bishop asked him to, but that the bishop has not done so. Cleveland Bishop Anthony Pilla has said that Catholic politicians who support abortion rights may decide for themselves whether they are morally fit to receive Communion in the eight-county Diocese of Cleveland.

http://www.cleveland.com/religion/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/living/1090580133105680.xml

Ask Bishop Pilla to help save Kucinich's soul:

Main Cathedral Square Personnel Phone and extensions to 216-696-6525

Office of the Bishop: The Most Reverend Anthony M. Pilla ext. 2030Fax (216) 696-6547 * bishop@dioceseofcleveland.org

Rev. Ed Estok, Administrative Assistant to the Bishop ext. 2000Fax (216) 696-6547
Eileen Von Alt ext. 2030

Secretary for Parish Life: Sr. Rita Mary Harwood ext. 2200 rmharwood@dioceseofcleveland.org;

Liturgy Office:Rev. J-Glenn Murray ext. 4120

Interfaith Commission: Rev. Joseph Hilinske ext. 5110 Chancery Office: Rev. Ralph Wiatrowski ext. 2080 / Night: (216) 521-8379Fax (216) 621-7332

Vice Chancellor: Rev. David J. Walkowiak ex 2120 Clergy Personnel Rev. Larry Jurcak ext. 2440 ljurcak@dioceseofclevelandorg

Auxiliary Bishops:Most Rev. A. James Quinn (440) 244-2120 / (216) 579-0326 / Fax (440) 899-1122

Most Rev. Roger W. Gries (216) 361-0873 / Fax (216) 361-0877

Most Rev. Martin J. Amos (330) 762-9651 / Toll Free 1-877-406-1049 / Fax (330) 762-9655