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Spending at parish soars with new priest
WORLD-HERALD ^ | April 16, 2005 | CHRISTOPHER BURBACH

Posted on 04/16/2005 11:24:59 PM PDT by CatherineSiena

Spending at parish soars with new priest

A noted Catholic thinker who was brought in to run St. Anthony Catholic Church in south Omaha allegedly spent more than $400,000 in 1 and 1/2 years - at a small parish that normally spent about $50,000 a year.

Police are investigating the Rev. Peter Stravinskas' handling of St. Anthony's parish funds after parishioners filed a report of a possible embezzlement. Detectives have told a judge it appears parish money was spent on Stravinskas' personal expenses, including travel, mortgage payments and credit cards.

In a court filing last month, Omaha police said two parish funds - one worth $82,000 and the other worth $71,000 - were nearly wiped out. Only $4,200 remained from the $153,000 total, detectives told a judge.

But The World-Herald learned this week that those funds represented only part of St. Anthony's savings.

And people knowledgeable about the situation said the money taken from those accounts was only part of a larger amount spent from August 2002, when Stravinskas arrived, until March 2004, when the Archdiocese of Omaha froze parish funds.

Stravinskas has not been charged with a crime and remains St. Anthony's temporary administrator. He has declined to comment. He was scheduled to return Friday night from a trip to Rome, said the Rev. Nicholas Gregoris, who answered the door at the rectory Friday.

The Rev. Gregory Baxter, chancellor of the archdiocese, declined to comment, citing the police investigation.

Police have declined to comment on the extent of Stravinskas' alleged misspending.

Church financial records published in parish documents indicate, however, that St. Anthony had $313,000 in savings in January 2002. It is unclear what that total was when Stravinskas arrived that summer, but parishioners said St. Anthony had no extraordinary expenses before Stravinskas came.

The parish typically brought in about $50,000 a year and spent that much, said Albinas Reskevicius, a parish trustee for nearly 40 years until early 2003. He said he had no knowledge of parish spending since that time.

Omaha Archbishop Elden Curtiss brought Stravinskas, 54, to Omaha from Mount Pocono, Pa. A clerical group Stravinskas had founded there, the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, had been disbanded.

Stravinskas has written numerous books and founded magazines, the Catholic Answer and the Catholic Response, defending traditional Roman Catholic teachings.

Stravinskas, a native of New Jersey, is a priest of the Diocese of Boise, Idaho, but hasn't worked there in 25 years.

Stravinskas shares Lithuanian ancestry with many of the St. Anthony parishioners, but there has been no more explanation of why such a noted priest landed in a shrinking neighborhood parish.

Curtiss declined to be interviewed Friday about the parish's finances or about how he knows Stravinskas or why he brought him to Omaha.

In a May 2002 sermon, the archbishop praised Stravinskas as "a first-rate scholar with a rich academic background," and "a herald of truth in the church."

Curtiss delivered the sermon in New York City to mark the 25th anniversary of Stravinskas' ordination.

"Now that I am 70, I will be fortunate to be associated with you and your ministry for another decade," Curtiss said. "You are a special priest and a special friend to me and many people who really know you. I consider you a gift in my ministry and in my life."

In Omaha, Stravinskas registered the Priestly Society of the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman as a Nebraska nonprofit, based at the St. Anthony rectory.

Stravinskas also hired a contractor to renovate parish buildings. Contractor Mark Warsocki said the priest paid him and others to do $126,000 in work.

In the church, Warsocki said, he installed a marble floor in the sanctuary, painted the ceiling and repaired the tabernacle area.

Stravinskas wanted to convert the rectory, a former convent, into a more comfortable residence for himself, Gregoris and a seminarian, Warsocki said. They felt cramped in 9-by-13-foot rooms where nuns once lived, the contractor said.

He built a three-room suite for Stravinskas, plus a library, in the rectory's unfinished basement.

Warsocki installed new flooring, a patio door, windows, a wine rack and a deck on the rectory's main floor, he said, and converted four second-floor sleeping rooms into two living suites with individual bathrooms.

Warsocki said Stravinskas also had hired him to create two more living suites. But Warsocki said Stravinskas stopped the work on Good Friday 2004, after the archdiocese audit. The contractor said he had $16,000 worth of labor left to do.

Warsocki described the work as needed and not lavish. He said Stravinskas had him buy materials from home improvement stores with the priest's personal credit card.

Warsocki said he undercharged because of inexperience and a desire to improve a parish where his grandfather and father had belonged.


TOPICS: Catholic
KEYWORDS: omaha
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To: Angelas

Shhhhh!

Don't tell the Religion Mod!


361 posted on 06/06/2005 6:42:57 PM PDT by Palladin (God Bless America!)
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To: Palladin

You've certainly mellowed since Saturday night.


362 posted on 06/06/2005 6:52:27 PM PDT by church militant
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To: Angelas; Concerned Catholic

Regarding posts #324 and #329....you both seem pretty sure Dr. Bond is reading this thread. Interesting.

How do you know this?


363 posted on 06/06/2005 9:11:27 PM PDT by church militant
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To: Angelas; Concerned Catholic

Sorry, that second one should have been #349.

#324 and #349.


364 posted on 06/06/2005 9:23:27 PM PDT by church militant
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To: Angelas; Concerned Catholic

I've noticed that the few exchanges between the two of you are strange, to say the least, and for a long time Angelas/Concerned Catholic wouldn't even answer Concerned Catholic/Angelas' posts.

Anybody know any good lawyer jokes?


365 posted on 06/06/2005 10:11:13 PM PDT by church militant
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To: church militant
Reread the posts. ancilla accused Palladin of being Dr. Bond. The posts explain that Dr. Bond posts under his own name so he would not be Palladin.

I believe we have all said how we feel and since we continue to disagree, I really want to focus my efforts on other issues. I cannot speak for the others, though! I haven't heard any good lawyer jokes but I did hear one about a woman asking various people for personal information on a certain priest. I could care less about what you are doing. My focus has been the financial loss to St Anthony's.
366 posted on 06/07/2005 4:19:10 PM PDT by Angelas
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To: Angelas

Of course you want to focus on other issues! YOU GOT CAUGHT!

You act as though I've committed a cardinal sin by seeking out information before forming an opinion about a serious matter. Yes I asked "various people" about "a certain priest" but ONLY ONE of them knew about the other two. And his name is Bond.

I hope like hell that somebody in Father's camp shows all of your hateful, scandalous posts on this thread to Archbishop Curtiss. He ought to know the caliber of people with whom he's dealing and he ought to take everything you say with a grain of salt because you're all liars.

And let's not forget that you defamed TWO priests in the course of your this witch hunt!

The posts on this thread by the anti-P.M.J.S. crowd are a textbook example of the end justifying the means.

Your loyalty to your homeland and your church buildings dwarf any loyalty you might have to God and His Church. The archbishop would be wise to tell you to grow up and get lost.

You should have quit while you were ahead.


367 posted on 06/07/2005 8:59:58 PM PDT by church militant
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To: Angelas

"I believe we have all said how we feel and since we continue to disagree, I really want to focus my efforts on other issues."

I agree. Her post in response to yours is another example that there is no reasoning with this woman. Speaking of defamation, what do you think she is doing to Dr. Bond!

I say we pray for her and us to St Anthony to see us through these trying times and cease posting to these vicious people.


368 posted on 06/08/2005 1:45:00 AM PDT by Concerned Catholic
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To: Concerned Catholic

"cease posting"?

Sounds like a great idea.


369 posted on 06/08/2005 5:34:35 AM PDT by church militant
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To: church militant

I don't know about this Bond thing, so I'll just comment on the rest of this post. Using words like "hell" to get your point across (or lack thereof), doesn't sound like the good God fearing person you've been purporting to be in your posts and I'm almost certain YOU are keeping track of all these "scandalous" posts (leaving out all of yours and your friends, of course) , so you can turn them over to the Archbishop, who I'm sure will appreciate coming from someone NOT of his Archdiocese, complaining about people who have been parishioners for over 50 years. Yes, I do have loyalty for my parents' homeland which is mostly Catholic and our parish, which is an extension of the homeland. Besides, I don't think there is much of a defference between our loyalty and your loyalty to the "temporary" administrator.


370 posted on 06/08/2005 5:59:08 AM PDT by Petskelis
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To: Petskelis

Re-read my posts. I've never tried to pass myself off as "holy", mostly because I'm not so much. I wish I were though. It baffling to me that a chronic liar would be offended by the word 'hell'.

I'm sure someone is gathering all of these up but it's not me. I don't have the time, energy, or interest, for that matter, to copy all of these posts. If someone does hand them over to the archbishop I pray that they also hand over mine because they will assist in destroying your credibility.

It doesn't matter where I'm from. The facts speak for themselves. You lied and defamed, I had the facts, you got caught.

My work here is done.


371 posted on 06/08/2005 6:25:56 AM PDT by church militant
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To: church militant

First, I have never said anything in any of my posts as to whether or not they were fact. Most of my posts have been responses to you and the people who agree with your stories. As to my being a liar and using the word "hell", you don't know who I really am, so how can you even say this ? I can turn around and say the same thing about you and all your "facts", but I don't.
It most certainly does matter where you're from because if you're not directly involved you should just follow the story from the outside.
When you say "my work here is done" does that mean you won't post anymore comments ? If so, Buh-Bye !!!!


372 posted on 06/08/2005 9:22:48 AM PDT by Petskelis
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To: Petskelis

"It most certainly does matter where you're from because if you're not directly involved you should just follow the story from the outside."

Tell that to Palladin!


373 posted on 06/08/2005 5:30:30 PM PDT by church militant
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To: Petskelis
Are you watching the Huskers? We have a Lithuanian on our team, Simokaitis!
374 posted on 06/17/2005 5:41:49 PM PDT by Concerned Catholic
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To: Petskelis

Go Huskers!


375 posted on 06/17/2005 7:26:33 PM PDT by Concerned Catholic
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To: Concerned Catholic; Petskelis; Palladin
Boston Lithuanian and Other Parishes to Stay Open
St. Peter Lithuanian Parish Website | June 21, 2005 | Angelas


Posted on 06/21/2005 3:24:42 PM PDT by Angelas


Friends of Saint Peter Lithuanian Parish – Update # 18

June 17, 2005

Dear Friends,

A little over a year ago, we received the devastating news that our beloved St. Peter Lithuanian Parish was going to be closed! Yesterday, on June 16th, 2005, the Archdiocese removed the threat of extinction by announcing that our Parish will stay open!

We all deserve to breathe a sigh of relief and we all deserve to feel a great amount of satisfaction at having its ill-conceived decision reversed. We banded together to save a part of our heritage. We stood shoulder to shoulder in our determination to keep our Parish open. We demonstrated, we wrote letters, made phone calls and helped the cause in countless ways. We contributed monies to launch a legal and canonical challenge to the threat of closure. We worked hard, we sacrificed time and energy and we can exult in the news proclaimed by the Archdiocese.

However, there are still unanswered questions. We shall pursue answers and clarifications with the help of our canon law attorney. News reports offer different threads of information. For example, the Boston Globe proclaimed on its front page (June 17, 2005) that St. Peter Lithuanian Parish would remain open along with four other parishes. The news release published on the website of the archdiocese of Boston offers a slightly different tone. This news release clearly states that two parishes will remain open, two others will have their closing dates rescinded and St. Peter Lithuanian Parish will not have a closing date established.

We are not sure what this means and we hope to find out. We shall be requesting clarification from the archdiocese. Fr. Zukas has been named principal contact concerning the status of the Parish so perhaps he will receive clarification that he can share with us.

We know that at least for now, we are open and the imminent threat of closure has been removed. We should celebrate this victory and we can afford to be guardedly optimistic about our future. It remains a very real possibility that the archdiocese will revisit this whole issue of reconfiguration at some later time and we may be faced with a similar threat of closure. Time will tell. But for now, enjoy the serenity that comes with the removal of the threat of closure. Let’s enjoy our Parish life as never before. Let’s recommit ourselves to making our Parish more vibrant and thriving than ever before!

Plans are being considered for a mass of Thanksgiving and Celebration in the early fall. We shall keep you informed of any information about our future. Enjoy the day! Enjoy the news! Pray that the archdiocese does not consider reconfiguration again for a very long time! Until next time,

Gloria R. Adomkaitis for the Friends

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/06/17/archdiocese_lifts_plans_to_close_five_parishes/

http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=89757

http://www.rcab.org/News/releases/statement050616.html





TOPICS: Catholic; Current Events; Religion & Politics; Click to Add Topic
376 posted on 06/21/2005 3:32:55 PM PDT by Angelas
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To: Angelas; Concerned Catholic; Palladin

Just an FYI to whoever is still interested . Some of you may have already seen this article, anyway here it is




The Epicurean Gadfly

Sunday, June 19, 2005 - Vocation of Destruction: The Fall of the Purple Vicar

It is only a matter of time before one who has spent his entire life rummaging through other peoples closets, displaying their contents before the few low enough to listen, is brought to his knees by his own tactics. Ah, the death of the Rev. Peter Stravinskas, self-made archbishop of hypocrisy and fantasizer of purple piping. According to the Omaha press, it looks as if the never-could-have-been-monsignor will only be seeing the purple capes of justice draped upon his embezzeling behind. Anyone who has known this chap is not surprised an ounce by these allegations. Though he remains uncharged, his Archbishop has decided to make a personal judgement. This coming from a catholic prelate who is rarely befalled or pressured by the press. His usual response to allegations or such matters is to verbally flip the press a bird reading "CATHOLIC PREJUDICE!" From the Jesuits of Boston to the Legion of Mexico, everbody had this guy's number. At an ecclesiastical affair, one utterance of his initials: P.M.S., an early indication of his temperament, draws hisses and laughs crackling the same comment: he likes those Latin waiters; he has been wishing for the episcopacy since infancy: he'll never have either. He has spoken ill of too many people. Between his attempted "outings" of what he believes are closeted clergy to his irresponsible and outright crude criticism of his superiors to their face in front of those entrusted to his "spiritual leadership", it was his own destruction in the making. It just so happens many knew of his obsession with money and only did the slightest ear to the ground motion and gave some attention to a few questions and soon it became apparent. Financial misconduct along with the rap sheet following him to Omaha, boiling his vocation as a priest to one of convenience. Looks like you should have stayed where you belong: in Boise, with only cows and chickens to offend and corn meal to steal.
posted by Sainte Chopin @ 6:42 PM 0 comments


377 posted on 07/12/2005 5:21:31 AM PDT by Petskelis
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To: Petskelis

Thanks for the updates.

How was Stravinskas's trip to Rome with the old ladies? Did he and his very close buddy room together?

When does Stravinskas get the boot? Has he been indicted yet?

I'm happy that your parish will remain open, hopefully under new management!


378 posted on 07/12/2005 1:14:13 PM PDT by Palladin (America! America! God shed His grace on Thee.)
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To: Petskelis

Yes, I saw this. Here is another person that shows the pattern the PS (or now known as PMS)has engaged in for years!


379 posted on 07/12/2005 2:48:58 PM PDT by Angelas
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To: Palladin
Thank you for the kind words but the church that will remain open is in Boston. I applaud their efforts especially to use the canonical process to get it done!
I don't know all the details about the trip, except that he and "Nicky" stayed on until yesterday. Christifideles has some information from a friend of PS's that went on the trip. Didn't sound too exciting. By the way, I heard that PS owns Peters Way Travel so that is why he charged $1,000 more than other travel agencies.
No word yet on the police investigation but even if there was no criminal wrongdoing, he spent $400,000 after the Arch brought him here! Based on canon law, PS was suppose to give the Arch annual reports on expenditures. So, the Arch is just as liable as far as I can determine. If PS was not giving these reports, why didn't the Arch require them per canon law?
I heard that the Arch is having second thoughts about making PS leave. What does PS have on the Arch? The Lithuanian community is lost so we will need to announce this nationally.
The newbie's hate the Lithuanians which was evident by their vicious posts. And PS was responsible for turning them against us, his modus was "divide and conquer" wherever he goes. Supposedly this is exactly what he did to the Lithuanian parish in New Jersey.
PS did not hold the required Parish Council meetings, nor did he consult with the Finance Council. When this was brought to the Arch's attention, he ignored us! Another canon law violation!
PS turned our beautiful white altar into a monstrosity of brown with a purple background (barf alert).
PS took away our Lithuanian Mass and made it a Latin Mass yet his website calls it a Lithuanian Mass. Hah!
As you can tell I am very emotional about what has happened and that the Arch has failed to take action like other Bishops and Archbishops have done!
380 posted on 07/12/2005 3:10:46 PM PDT by Angelas
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