New York pastor accused of financial improprieties asked to step down

Published: 2004-07-16

NEW YORK (CNS) -- A prominent New York pastor has been asked to "voluntarily step down from the parish" pending resolution of allegations of improper financial administration made against him. A New York archdiocesan release July 15 also said archdiocesan officials had notified the Manhattan district attorney, Robert M. Morgenthau, of its findings, and would "cooperate in any investigation the district attorney deems necessary." The actions came after Msgr. John G. Woolsey, pastor of St. John the Martyr Church on the affluent East Side of Manhattan, was presented with "evidence of apparent improper administration" and he failed to offer "a reasonable explanation," the release said. The archdiocese said it became aware of the situation late last year, when it learned the executor of an estate was making allegations involving Msgr. Woolsey. Janet Naegele, the executor, charged that Msgr. Woolsey persuaded Rose Cale, an unmarried parishioner who died last year at the age of 88, to give him large amounts from her estate.

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