Catholic Church Class Action Alleges Donation Embezzlement

A class action lawsuit lodged against the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops claims that “Peter’s Pence” donations meant for the poor are actually being used for investments in things such as real estate and Hollywood films.

David O’Connell, a donor to the Catholic Church’s Peter’s Pence program, says he and other gift-givers were misled regarding how their donations would be used.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) allegedly states that their Peter’s Pence donations are used to provide emergency assistance to “people suffering in our world.”

O’Connell says that he donated to Peter’s Pence at his church in East Providence, R.I., “[a]t the urging of USCCB.” He states that he donated because he was told that the funds would assist those in the world who were in need of emergency assistance.

“For years, USCCB has solicited and collected hundreds of millions of dollars in donations from parishioners of Catholic churches throughout Rhode Island and the United States as part of its ‘Peter’s Pence’ collection,” alleges the class action lawsuit. “USCCB consistently promotes this specific collection as necessary for helping those suffering the effects of war, oppression, natural disaster, or disease throughout the world and who are thus in need of immediate relief.”

However, the Peter’s Pence donation class action lawsuit alleges that only a small portion of these funds are directly used for the intended purposes – as little as 10 percent.

According to the complaint, several news outlets reported that Peter’s Pence donations were not being used as described in promotional materials. One Italian newspaper reported that funds were used to finance movies, such as Rocketman and Men in Black: International, as well as to prop up a Malta investment firm that ended up losing 2 million euros of the funds.

In addition, the Wall Street Journal reported that Peter’s Pence donations were being used to supplement the Vatican’s administrative budget.

“Regrettably and tragically, only a very small portion of this money—as little as 10%—has found its way to the needy for whom it was given,” states the complaint. “The rest of the money—hundreds of millions of dollars over the last several years—has been diverted into various suspicious investment funds, which in turn have funneled the money into such diverse ventures as luxury condominium developments and Hollywood movies while paying fund managers hefty, multi-million dollar commissions.”

The plaintiff says he and other well-meaning donors would not have given to Peter’s Pence had they known that the majority of the funds were not being used to help the poor as advertised. The class action lawsuit calls upon the USCCB to “come clean” about how Peter’s Pence funds are used.

“Having collected hundreds of millions of dollars from faithful and well-meaning donors for the poor in immediate need of assistance, USCCB must now account for itself and the money with which it was entrusted, and, in the interests of justice, it must disgorge the funds that were not spent as it promised,” states the Peter’s Pence donation class action lawsuit.

Did you donate to Peter’s Pence? What do you think about the alleged use of the donations? Let us know in the comments below!

The plaintiff is represented by Peter N. Wasylyk of the Law Offices of Peter N. Wasylyk and Marc R. Stanley and Martin Woodward of the Stanley Law Group.

The Peter’s Pence Donation Class Action Lawsuit is O’Connell v. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Case No. 1:20-cv-00031-WES-PAS, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island.

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