Preliminary reports...

are indicating that the recent meeting of the Antiochian Archdiocesan Board of Trustees and Synod of Bishops has resulted in a decision to have an "internal" audit of the Archdiocese's finances, the return of Bishop Demetri to retirement, and the redirection of the manual for bishops to a committee.

Bishop Demetri, who was convicted several years ago of a sexual offense, had been retired and was quietly returned to a position with the Archdiocese of Mexico and the Caribbean with his salary paid for through the Archdiocese in the US. If the tentative information is true he will return to retirement.

An internal audit of the Archdiocese's finances, if the preliminary reports are correct, is not the external audit that many have requested but it, depending on the nature of those selected to conduct it, could be a step forward to greater transparency and trust in Archdiocesan finances.

The manual of hierarchical responsibilities, depending on how it was worded, could have become a divisive document and its postponement to committee may also be related to the development of such a manual by the Holy Synod of Antioch.

For more information go to ocanews.org.

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