Parishoners at Claremont church claim money is being mismanaged

About 15 members of Saint Augustine - Our Lady of Victory claim money at the Claremont congregation has been mismanaged for years under the leadership of Father George Stewart.

News 12 Staff

Mar 22, 2019, 12:20 AM

Updated 2,076 days ago

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Parishoners at Claremont church claim money is being mismanaged
A group of concerned parishoners are asking their church where there money has gone.
About 15 members of Saint Augustine - Our Lady of Victory claim money at the Claremont congregation has been mismanaged for years under the leadership of Father George Stewart.
Among the allegations are nearly $20,000 in renovations that never came, hundreds of thousands in rent income that is seemingly unaccounted for and never seeing funding and stipend money owed to the church's food pantry and its volunteers.
The church's weekly bulletin revealed the pantry was operating at a loss, so the nun in charge would step down, and operations would be taken over by Catholic charities.
In a statement, the Archdiocese of New York invites the group to write directly to its chief financial officer, "to share their specific concerns so that they might be investigated and responded to."
The pastor of the parish, however, can be seen in a video responding to the allegations from the pulpit earlier this month. He denies the claims against him and justifies what he calls his efforts to save the pantry.
The concerned parishoners say if the archdiocese does not take action, they are ready to take the issue to the DA's office.