Dear Bishop Patrick Neary, C.S.C.

My first encounter with Catholic clergy was as a seven-year-old boy when I began serving Mass. The priest at my parish had escaped communist Yugoslavia and fled to the United States. He was not a great homilist, but he was kind, humble, and honest. He was loved by the congregation. He inspired in me a desire to become a priest myself. As a young person, I became very active in the Church: serving as an altar server, joining the youth choir, lectoring, and volunteering for maintenance and cleaning.

That respect for the clergy was shaken with the next priest assigned to my home parish. I was initially troubled by his brashness and impatience, but the real rupture came when a police officer interviewed me as part of an investigation into that priest. I later learned he had embezzled thousands of dollars from the parish to purchase a car for a teenage boy. What was most disturbing was that, despite evidence presented to the bishop, the priest was reassigned to another parish. It was only because a parish trustee warned that community of his actions that this priest was ultimately forced out.

Despite this experience, I continued to feel called to serve the Church. At many intersections of my life, I was drawn back—primarily as a teacher and later as a principal in Catholic schools. In those roles, I encountered multiple situations where clergy deliberately misrepresented budgetary figures to justify staffing cuts and minimal or nonexistent pay increases. While I was frequently being told of budget shortfalls, I exceeded fundraising goals, identified efficiencies, and worked diligently to keep school budgets in the black—all for the sake of providing a Catholic education to our children. These efforts and successes had little to no bearing on the investment the schools or the diocese made in their students or teachers. I continued to serve because I believe deeply in the Church’s doctrine, its commitment to social justice, and its people.

However, the current debacle involving the depleted pension managed by the Christian Brothers, combined with the lack of meaningful Church oversight, and little to no communication from you or other leaders in the St Cloud Diocese, has forced me to ask a difficult question: does Church leadership truly practice what it preaches? I am not naïve enough to believe that every priest will act without fault, but I have witnessed too many instances where ethical discernment was absent or ignored.

While the Christian Brothers clearly failed in their fiduciary responsibilities—mismanaging funds and reassuring employees that pensions were secure despite clear warning signs—dioceses must also be held accountable. There was a responsibility to designate oversight, to audit the financials, and to ensure that reports were honest and complete. Several Catholic high schools in Minnesota withdrew from the Christian Brothers pension plan five or more years ago because they recognized the warning signs. Why did the Diocese of St. Cloud not see the same “writing on the wall”?

This situation has caused profound harm to the laity who served the Church faithfully, trusting that the Church would act justly in return. Transparency, accountability, and moral leadership are not optional—they are essential to restoring trust.  Currently, the silence on this matter is disappointing and once again, from my perspective, demonstrates a lack of care and compassion for all those who are impacted 

Respectfully,

Karl Terhaar