Waterbury, Connecticut Priest Accused Of Taking $1 Million From Parish

A well-known Roman Catholic priest in Waterbury is accused of taking about $1 million from the Sacred Heart/Sagredo Corazon parish for his personal use over a seven-year period, depleting parish finances and sparking a criminal investigation.

Rev. Kevin J. Gray, 64, was placed on medical leave by Hartford Archbishop Henry J. Mansell on April 15 and has not been heard from since, said Rev. John P. Gatzak, director of communications for the Hartford Archdiocese. "We don't know where he is at this point,'' Gatzak said..
Many parishioners learned of the alleged theft for the first time at Saturday night Mass, and the collective reaction was anger, disbelief and sadness. Officials from the archdiocese plan to return to Sacred Heart today to discuss the matter with congregants after Sunday morning services.
"We take seriously the trust relationship we hold with our parish families,'' Gatzak said. "The erosion of trust is of greater concern than even the financial impact. Of course it is a huge sum of money, but the betrayal of trust is something we are very concerned about.''
Father Gray was a popular priest in Waterbury, having served in the city for 26 years, first at St. Margaret's and St. Cecilia's churches before arriving at Sacred Heart/Sagredo Corazon. "He was loved and respected by many,'' Gatzak said.
Gatzak would not say what Gray might have done with the money, though they believe he was acting alone. The priest had told people in the community he was gravely ill, Gatzak said.
"In recent years all of the archdiocese family, the parishioners of Sacred Heart/Sagredo Corazon, have been concerned about the health problems that Father Gray had reported he was experiencing …They were all very understanding and supportive in the midst of this apparent life-threatening illness … It is not certain that he has a life-threatening illness.''
Waterbury police could not be reached for comment Saturday night. But the archdiocese said it referred the matter to police on May 21 after it uncovered unauthorized payments of church funds during a routine review.
The archdiocese said it decided to go public with the matter this weekend because it was worried rumors would begin to develop. "We decided it was in the best interest of the parish family itself. They deserve to know the truth,'' Gatzak said. "We wanted to wait for the final results of the police investigation but felt it was it was best to speak with the parish now.''
The alleged theft began in January 2003, Gatzak said, but it only came to light during a recent review. The money was taken from parish savings accounts as well as funds earmarked for payment of debts, including insurance payments and the cathedraticum, an annual assessment paid by parishes to the archdiocese, he said.
The church requires each parish to have a parish financial council to work with the pastor on fiscal matters, but Sacred Heart/Sagredo Corazon did not have such a panel, Gatzak said. Pastors are also required to issue annual financial reports to the archdiocese, but Gray did not comply the archdiocese spokesman said. Both of those things helped trigger the financial review, which is done on a rotating basis at parishes throughout the archdiocese.
In 2009, the Connecticut legislature considered a bill that would have given greater oversight of parish finances to lay people within the church. Catholic leaders vigorously fought the measure, which was pulled before a public hearing was held.
Such a bill would have made no difference in this case, Gatzak said. "This was discovered not by the state, not by the police and not by parishioners,'' he said. "It was discovered by the archdiocese itself because of the controls it has in place. The archdiocese its certainly taking its fiduciary responsibilities very seriously.''
Still, Gatzak said the archdiocese will review its procedures to determine "how we can better improve what we do,'' he said.
In the meantime, the archdiocese will help Sacred Heart/Sagredo Corazon heal. It intends to help fund neglected repairs to the church building as well as working to rebuild parishioners faith.
"There are a lot of victims of this whole thing,'' Gatzak said. "We need to be an understanding and compassionate community of faith and let the police complete their report and seek justice but we can certainly pray for all of those involved, including Father Gray himself."