Diocese nearly pays off debt

SANTA ROSA, Calif. -- Bishop Daniel F. Walsh announced last month that the diocese has finished restoring to its parishes, cemeteries and schools the funds that were lost in a 1999 financial collapse.

The Santa Rosa diocese also has repaid emergency loans it received from other dioceses across the country, with the exception of the loans from other dioceses in California, said diocesan finance officer Michael Urick, a permanent deacon.

"We still have a few goals" to meet, he said, including full restoration of the priests' pension fund and setting aside scholarship money for students in Catholic schools.

A news release from the diocese said that the diocesan capital campaign to recover from the 1999 crisis has raised pledges totaling $18.6 million so far. Its target is $20 million.

The financial crisis in the diocese was uncovered shortly after Santa Rosa Bishop G. Patrick Ziemann resigned in July 1999 amid revelations that he had been involved in sexual relations with one of his priests. It was discovered that the diocese faced a $15 million debt.

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