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FYI, this is the press release from the Save Holy Trinity Committee, which prompted articles in both the Boston Globe and Boston Herald.

For updates on Holy Trinity, I encourage all to join the Save Holy Trinity Yahoo Egroup:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/saveholytrinity/?yguid=152366308

To clear the air, it is not the intent of HT Parishioners to sue their Administrator (and Vicar Forane) Fr. Hugh O'Regan. However, there are serious issues with financial reporting and management of Parish monies and overall stewardship of Parish property since his appointment on 1 November 1996. As a result, the Parish Pastoral Council is demanding an audit of all Parish financial records before suppression proceeds on 30 June. The general feeling among Parishioners is that they have been misrepresented to the Archdiocese.

In fact, members of the Latin Mass community were told by Bishop John Boles, following his August 2001 episcopal visitation, that they could join Holy Trinity as Parishioners . Membership until that time was understood to be reserved for those only of German ancestry. Apparently, this was only a verbal "gentleman's" agreement and the Canonical definition of Holy Trinity's status as a German Personal Parish was never officially expanded to include those of the Latin Mass community. For some reason some diocesan decision maker has deemed the Latin Mass community as a "portable" entity. The reason for suppression is solely the declining German demographic. It is tragic that the growing and significant contribution of the Latin Mass community has made to Parish life at Holy Trinity (since 1990) has been completely ignored by the diocese. This is particularly true since they have been misled into believing they were Parishioners, ultimately not considered as part of the equation that has determined the Parish's fate. In other words, "Thank you for your financial and spiritual contributions. Now MOVE."

PRESS RELEASE 26 May 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Holy Trinity Parish Council Demands Independent Audit
Fears Irregularities Cover Financial Abuses; Notifies Archbishop,
Attorney General

BOSTON – May 26 – The lay members of the Holy Trinity Parish Council,
acting on behalf of the parishioners, have unanimously requested that
the Archdiocese of Boston engage independent accountants to conduct
an audit of the parish's books and property. The formal request for
the investigation was made in a letter sent to Bishop John P. Boles,
the Auxiliary Bishop with jurisdiction over the Central Region of the
Archdiocese, in which Holy Trinity resides. Because the amounts of
money involved are potentially significant, copies of the letter were
also sent to Archbishop Sean O'Malley and to Massachusetts Attorney
General Thomas Reilly.

The letter asserts, "Legitimate concerns or suspicions about possible
misappropriation of assets must be resolved. The elimination of Holy
Trinity as a legal entity might well serve to destroy evidence or
hinder its collection and must not happen while this investigation is
underway."

Founded in 1844 to meet the pastoral needs of German immigrants, Holy
Trinity Church in Boston's South End is the only German Catholic
parish left in New England. Over the years, it has grown as a faith
community in service to the Archdiocese by incorporating its only
authorized traditional Latin Mass and two social service agencies:
the Cardinal Medeiros Center day shelter for the homeless and the
Bridge Over Troubled Waters residence for at-risk youth. The parish
is scheduled to close on June 30 as part of the reconfiguration of
the Archdiocese.

The Parish Council was motivated to write the letter by two, possibly
related, concerns about the actions of Fr. Hugh H. O'Regan,
administrator of the parish for the last eight and one half years.
The first is a pattern of financial irregularities that has raised
many questions – which he has refused to address – about the
management of parish funds and property. The second is the fear that
Holy Trinity ended up on the list of parishes to be closed as a
result of deliberate misrepresentation of the parish's financial and
spiritual condition and potential.

The Council cites nearly three pages of specific examples of
questionable or unsatisfactory behavior by Fr. O'Regan in three broad
areas: financial accountability, accounting practices, and
stewardship of parish property. Chief among the concerns are his
failure, over his entire tenure, to provide any financial reports to
parishioners and his refusal to convene the Finance Committee that he
established. The letter also notes Fr. O'Regan's refusal to discuss
capital expense decisions and to establish operating and capital
expense budgets. The letter adds that Fr. O'Regan has conducted a
monthly "Special Maintenance Fund" collection but has done very
little maintenance; still, he has not explained "why this does not
amount to solicitation of donations under false pretenses."
Parishioners are also concerned that he has "merged the parishes in
finance, if not in fact," by regularly announcing at Holy Trinity the
activities and collection totals at his other parish, St. James the
Greater in Chinatown, thereby creating the impression that in some
way these two separate parishes have become a joint enterprise.

The letter also states that the parish has lost tens of thousands of
dollars of rightful income because Fr. O'Regan failed to provide the
Cardinal Medeiros program with copies of utility bills for which it
could be reimbursed. He has also refused to cooperate with
parishioners' efforts to obtain grants to preserve the 127 year old
church's irreplaceable stained glass windows.

Other examples of Fr. O'Regan's unsatisfactory stewardship of parish
property include failures to establish a maintenance plan, to allow
for parishioner-subsidized upgrades to the electrical system, and to
address water leakage in the basement and roof. Also of concern are
his lack of care for rare, highly-decorated vestments and his removal
of "valuable artifacts . . . without consultation with or notice
given to the Parish Council or the Sacristan," according to the
letter. It continues, "Not only do these practices suggest that
Father O'Regan considers parish property to be his personal property,
they create an atmosphere of uncertainty. If anything actually is
stolen or misappropriated, it might never be reported because Father
O'Regan has created an environment in which the disappearance of
church property is routine."

Because the Parish Council believes "that this documented pattern of
financial carelessness could serve to cover (whether intended or not)
a host of potential financial abuses," it has demanded an audit of
all income, expenses, and parish property distribution dating back to
November 1, 1996, the date that Fr. O'Regan assumed responsibility
for Holy Trinity. The Parish Council has also demanded a valuation of
the total assets of the parish, including the building, artwork,
sacred vessels, vestments, and musical instruments.

While concerns about financial matters are normally the jurisdiction
of a parish's Finance Committee, the Parish Council explained that it
has taken the extraordinary action of writing this letter because the
parish has no Finance Committee. "My concern as a Parish Council
member was that we never received a financial report. `You'll get one
when I have one,' is the answer Fr. O'Regan most often told us,"
explained Dolores Miller, the secretary of the Parish Council. "Even
more disturbing to me is the fact that the Finance Committee,
established because canon law dictates it, never met, and I want to
know why."

"Eight and a half years with no accountability whatsoever is an
invitation for abuse," added Patti Strom, another member of the
Parish Council. "The fact that this successful and historic parish is
to be shut down by the Archdiocese may be the ultimate cover-up."

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