A former Catholic parish priest who stole $149,000 from the church has won his appeal against sentence in the High Court and will serve his time on home detention. But Father John William Fitzmaurice, 57, was refused bail pending his appeal after the jail term was imposed in the Christchurch District Court on February 27, Read more
Christchurch’s Catholic Bishop, Barry Jones, says everyone who has been involved in the fraud committed by John Fitzmaurice have been extremely saddened. Bishop Jones expressed “disappointment” that his once-trusted priest had been jailed, having pleaded to the court for him to receive home detention. He was also saddened to lose the services of “a very able and Read more
John William Fitzmaurice pleaded guilty to five charges of dishonestly using documents and one of obtaining money by deception when he appeared in the Christchurch District Court on Monday. He committed the fraud while he was the parish priest at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament and at Addington’s Sacred Heart Parish. The charges relate to Read more
The Catholic Church is paying the legal bills for a Christchurch parish priest despite laying the complaint that started a police inquiry into financial irregularities.
Father John Fitzmaurice was stood down from his duties as parish priest at the Sacred Heart Church in Addington, last month after Bishop of Christchurch Barry Jones became concerned about his handling of some of the church’s financial affairs.
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A Christchurch priest suspended from ministry, is being investigated over alleged “financial irregularities” in his parish. The parish priest of Sacred Heart, Addington, Father John Fitzmaurice, who also ministers to the Carmelite Monastery and the Hoon Hay parish, has been stood down In a letter from Bishop Barry Jones read out at masses on Sunday he Read more