Fr. Fessio's Bank Account
Mon, Dec04, 2006 - Category: University
Back in September, Avewatch reported on the sworn
testimony provided by AMU's
former CFO. One of the many curious things
mentioned in the deposition was the funding of the chapel at the
soon-to-be-named Ave Maria University Latin
American campus in Nicaragua ("Ave Maria College
of the Americas"). It was said by the then-CFO
at AMU:
"One of the things that came to my attention was an unusual transaction related to the funding for the chapel down in Nicaragua. … it came to light that there was a liability in order to repay a Father Fessio ($240,000) for construction for the College chapel. When I inquired as to why there was no liability on the financial statements for that, I was told that the liability was, quote, off balance sheet.
This transaction deserves further investigation. Fr. Fessio is the Provost of Ave Maria University in Florida. Did Monaghan run Foundation money through Fessio's personal account? Were additional funds routed through Fr. Fessio's bank account to fund AMU projects? It is also unclear whether Fr. Fessio violated canon law in these matters given:
Can. 285 §4. Without the permission of their ordinary, they [clerics] are not to take on the management of goods belonging to lay persons or secular offices which entail an obligation of rendering accounts. They are prohibited from giving surety even with their own goods without consultation with their proper ordinary. They also are to refrain from signing promissory notes, namely, those through which they assume an obligation to make payment on demand.
"One of the things that came to my attention was an unusual transaction related to the funding for the chapel down in Nicaragua. … it came to light that there was a liability in order to repay a Father Fessio ($240,000) for construction for the College chapel. When I inquired as to why there was no liability on the financial statements for that, I was told that the liability was, quote, off balance sheet.
This transaction deserves further investigation. Fr. Fessio is the Provost of Ave Maria University in Florida. Did Monaghan run Foundation money through Fessio's personal account? Were additional funds routed through Fr. Fessio's bank account to fund AMU projects? It is also unclear whether Fr. Fessio violated canon law in these matters given:
Can. 285 §4. Without the permission of their ordinary, they [clerics] are not to take on the management of goods belonging to lay persons or secular offices which entail an obligation of rendering accounts. They are prohibited from giving surety even with their own goods without consultation with their proper ordinary. They also are to refrain from signing promissory notes, namely, those through which they assume an obligation to make payment on demand.