Newspaper Page Text
The
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Vol. 28 No. 28
Thursday, August 16, 1990
$15.00 Per Year
Bishop Names Panel To Clear Financial Questions
BY GRETCHEN REISER
A commission chaired by Coca-Cola chief executive
officer Donald R. Keough will investigate whether archdi
ocesan funds or funds from two parishes were paid to
Victoria Long, in the wake of a scandal involving Ms.
Long, Archbishop Eugene A. Marino, SSJ, and Father
Michael Woods.
The commission’s task will be to “investigate whether
there have been any monies paid to or on behalf of
Victoria R. Long from the central offices of the archdio
cese of Atlanta, from St. Jude’s parish, or from St. John
the Evangelist parish,” said Michael McNamara, chief
financial officer of the archdiocese Aug. 14.
Three other commission members will be Ronald Seder,
a retired IBM director living in Gainesville, Alan Pinado,
a Clark-Atlanta University business school professor, and
Michael Trapp, a certified public accountant and managing
partner of Ernst & Young.
The information was released by Bishop James P. Lyke,
OFM, the apostolic administrator of the archdiocese. In an
interview Aug. 11, Bishop Lyke said that the commission
would not carry out the actual audit of archdiocesan and
parish financial records. An outside auditing firm will be
hired to do that work, Bishop Lyke said, but the commis
sion will take part in the selection of the firm and will
continue to be aware of the facts as they unfold.
Bishop Lyke also said that the results of the investiga
tion will be made public. He said that the commission and
the outside audit were his response to the fact that ques
tions had come to him from outside the Church, through
the news media, and from inside the Church, through his
meetings with lay people, priests and Religious, about
alleged misuse of archdiocesan or parish funds for Ms.
Long.
“I have been told by our finance officer that no
archdiocesan funds have been used to support Vicki
Long,” Bishop Lyke said Aug. 11. However, he said, “I
recognize that a number of people had this question. This
“The results of their study will be pub
lished."
Bishop Lyke
question came up at every meeting I had... I felt the only
way to put to rest that perception was to establish a
special commission to look into the matter. I now realize
that it is a bigger job and we will need to get an outside
audit.”
“The results of their study will be published,” Bishop
Lyke said.
Keough is the president and chief executive officer of
The Coca-Cola Co. Pinado has been director of the Real
Estate Institute at Clark-Atlanta University/Morehouse
College for four years. Prior to that he was vice president
of the New York Life Insurance Co. in New York City.
Seder was a director of IBM when he retired in February
1987. All four commission members are Catholic.
The parish accounts of SL Jude’s in Sandy Springs and
St. John the Evangelist in Hapeville are to be included
since both parishes have been pastored by Father Woods,
who acknowledged Aug. 4 that he had been involved in
the past with Ms. Long in an illicit relationship.
He resigned as pastor of St. Jude’s although his resigna
tion has not been accepted by Bishop Lyke.
“I want time to go by and allow for things to settle and
I want an opportunity to be able to consult a representative
group of people in the parish to get their input and then I
have to talk to him (Father Woods),” Bishop Lyke said
Aug. 11.
In the meantime, the parish is being temporarily
administered by Father David Talley, a parochial vicar at
St. Jude’s, a parish of nearly 2,000 families. Father Austin
Fogarty, who is also a parochial vicar at St. Jude’s, was
out of the country on vacation and is due back Sept. 1.
Father Woods has been in seclusion since Aug. 4 and
declined through a third party to be interviewed. He
referred inquiries to his prepared statement.
A storm of publicity and allegations was unleashed
Aug. 1 when WAGA-TV, Channel 5, broke a story that
Archbishop Marino resigned from his post as archbishop
of Atlanta after being confronted by Catholic Church
authorities with information that he had an “intimate
relationship” with Ms. Long, 27, of Riverdale.
Following nearly two weeks of public allegations and
disclosures, the following information has been verified
with officials of the archdiocese or public records.
In mid-April, 1990, Catholic Church authorities were
(Continued on page 7)
MEETINGS - Bishop Lyke Aug. 3 met with Religious of the archdio
cese to answer questions they had about the archbishop’s resignation and
his involvement with Vicki Long. Above, he greets sisters before the
closed-door meeting.
Bishop Lyke Answers
Queries About Scandal
BY GRETCHEN REISER
In an interview Aug. 11, Bishop James
P. Lyke, OFM, the new apostolic admin
istrator of the Atlanta archdiocese, an
swered a series of questions that have
been raised by the public disclosure of
improper relationships between Archbish
op Eugene Marino, SSJ, and Vicki Long,
and between Ms. Long and Father Mi
chael Woods. Those questions and his
answers are given here:
Q - Most recent information is that
Archbishop Marino has been admitted
to the psychiatric wing of a hospital
and is under observation for his mental
and physical well-being. Do you have
any information on his state of health?
Bishop Lyke: I don’t have any informa
tion on his physical condition beyond that
he has been placed in the psychiatric unit
of the hospital. I have never spoken to his
doctors personally. I can’t reveal more
details. People can write to him in care of
the Catholic Center and we will see to it
that their sentiments are shared with him.
Q - Is there any way to know when
or if Archbishop Marino will be able to
return to active service in the Church?
Bishop Lyke: I honestly believe that
until he feels that he is ready to return to
ministry, that that question is premature.
I long for the day when he can return to
ministry as a bishop. Obviously his doc
tors have to clear him as a healthy person
before he could entertain that.
Q - It has been about 10 or 11 days
since the news broke and you have
been speaking about it since then. Is
there anything you would say to people
of the archdiocese at this point in time?
Bishop Lyke: From a personal and a
pastoral point of view, I think we have
put enough energy into this. All the im
portant facts are on the table. There’s a
claim against the archdiocese and from
here on out, as far as I’m concerned, it
needs to go its legal route. I’ve met with
the entire staff, all the priests, sisters,
deacons and this Sunday (Aug. 12), I will
have met with representative lay people.
I don’t want to hide anything or snuff
anything out. We can’t put all our ener
gies into this. All of our people have dealt
with it for a good month, and have dealt
with it intensely for the last days. Apart
from the commitment we’ve already made
to prayer, to compassion, to forgiveness
and to faith, there is not much we can do.
(Continued on page 6)