Attorney Charges Diocese of Providence Closed Church for “Money Grab” of $4M in Assets

Attorney Charges Diocese of Providence Closed Church for “Money Grab” of $4M in Assets

The attorney for parishioners at the now-closed St. Charles Borromeo Church in Woonsocket is calling the move by the Diocese of Providence a “money grab.”

Attorney David Graham told GoLocal that he believes the actions by the Diocese is motivated by money and specifically the vast assets of the Woonsocket church that includes $1.7 million in cash and significant land holdings in Massachusetts.

Graham made the argument in Rhode Island Superior Court that parish assets total $4 million before being transferred to the Diocese upon the forced closure. 

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Graham, representing The Committee to Save St. Charles, made the claim in court last week when he was unsuccessful in his attempt for a motion for a temporary restraining order to stop Bishop Thomas Tobin from closing the church last Sunday.

Now, the group of displaced parishioners is taking their case to the Vatican and has hired a top legal firm.

SLIDES: See Motion for Restraining Order BELOW

 

“It felt like David versus Goliath,” said Graham, of going to Superior Court last Thursday and Friday. “I guess I just didn’t have enough stones.”

“The judge denied the motion on the grounds of separation of church and state, that she couldn’t enjoin the church from doing what their abilities allow them to do,” said Graham, of going before Judge Melissa Long. 

“We tried to prove irreparable harm. She even said there was harm here. But she said she didn’t have the power through the constitution and statutory authority,” said Graham. “I said this was a money grab by the Diocese.”

The Committee has retained Las Vegas attorney Robert Flummerfelt with Canon Law Services, LLC to take the fight to the Vatican, on religious grounds. 

“We are actively working on perfecting the appeal on this matter to Rome,” Flummerfelt told GoLocalProv.com. “I would not say more if we were to speak further, as this is an on-going canonical matter.”  

The Diocese of Providence did not respond to request for comment. 

 

Church, State, Money, and the Vatican

Committee Chair Albert Beauparlant and parishioner Richard Monteiro said in an interview with GoLocal that the church was more than economically viable.

“You can’t come to the most Catholic city in America and close our Vatican, a place built by Irish immigrants in 1846, that has stood the test of time,” said Beauparlant. “And this Frenchman is protecting what the original intent as when it was built in granite — for the parish to remain here like St. Patrick's, like the National Cathedral, like the Basilica."

Beauparlant spoke to his displeasure of the Diocese assuming the $4 million in assets from the parish. 

“The [St. Charles] land just over the state line is worth $2.3 million. It’s currently 65 acres of developable land. The real estate appraiser said it could be utilized as a residential for condos or senior living, or a solar farm,” said Beauparlant. “And the Diocese wants it all — and not on my watch.”

“I respect the Bishop. I come from a family of devout Catholics, with priests and nuns,” said Beauparlant. “But I feel that this time I’m on the right side.”

Beauparlant told GoLocalProv.com that the Committee has not exhausted its civil options.

"We have 15 days to file an appeal from [Long's] decision I believe, which we plan on pursuing," said Beauparlant. 

 

Latest in Legal Disputes

Currently, the Diocese of Providence is embroiled in a number of legal disputes. 

In October, GoLocal reported that former Sister of Mercy nun and America’s first female Attorney General Arlene Violet "unleashed" on the legal tactics of the Diocese of Providence -- and specifically Tobin -- for its actions against retirees in the St. Joseph Health Services pension fund collapse. 

“It is unjust what the Roman Catholic Church is doing to delay the court action to try and help the retirees,” said Violet. "Tobin and the church not only are not putting any monies in, but they are actively objecting to every effort to recover money even when they are not economically involved.”

As GoLocal reported: 

According to receiver Stephen Del Sesto for the failed St. Joseph pension fund, the Diocese twice filed motions to delay the transfer of more than $11 million-plus in funds and the 15 percent ownership interest in the St. Joseph Health Services corporation — de facto, the old hospital. The transfer of the funds would have no adverse impact on the Diocese — in fact, it would lessen the total estimated pension fund shortfall of $118 million — but, yet the Diocese filed to motions in opposition.

In December,  a former priest -- John Tormey -- sued the Diocese of Providence for defamation, after he was included in the list of clergy members the Diocese deemed "credibly accused" of sexually abusing minors.

Tormey in his lawsuit alleges that he was contacted in May by the Diocese and told he would be included on the list for an allegation of sexual abuse that was reported in 2002. 

In his lawsuit, he denies any accusation against him, and claims he was not allowed to defend himself before the Diocese released the list.

The Diocese of Providence in December also mounted a legal challenge against the new Rhode Island law, approved last General Assembly session, that greatly expands the time window for filing childhood sexual abuse lawsuits.