A Pompano Beach priest accused of stealing $236,469 in parish funds has resigned from his post at St. Coleman Catholic Church, the Archdiocese of Miami announced Sunday.
Father Henryk Pawelec, who had served at the church since 2015, stole the money for “his personal benefit,” wrote Archbishop Thomas Wenski in a letter to parishioners released on the Archdiocese website. No further details on the alleged theft were disclosed.
Wenski said “appropriate canonical proceedings have been inititated” and that the Archdiocese had reported the incident to the State Attorney’s Office for “any possible civil action.”
Acting on a tip, the Archdiocese investigated the priest and reviewed the parish’s financial records to determine how much money was stolen. At an Aug. 15 meeting with the archbishop, Pawelec agreed to resign and pay back the money he stole, Wenski said.
Read more at our news partner, the Miami Herald.
