We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.
Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.Help Now >
Former finance director sues Jackson diocese
FREE Catholic Classes
The Diocese of Jackson and its ordinary, Bishop Joseph Kopacz, are being sued by the diocese's former director of finance, who says he was unjustly fired last year.
The Holy Grail of Learning: How Catholic Values Transform Education
You can make it possible for more students to come into a deeper understanding of the Lord and the Catholic faith. Our 7,000 video lessons are FREE for learners and teachers around the world, and we intend to keep it that way. But it takes millions of dollars to produce high-quality content.
Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Jackson
Highlights
Catholic Online (https://www.catholic.org)
10/23/2019 (3 years ago)
Published in Politics & Policy
Jackson, Miss., (CNA) - The Diocese of Jackson and its ordinary, Bishop Joseph Kopacz, are being sued by the diocese's former director of finance, who says he was unjustly fired last year.
Arie "Aad" Mattheus de Lange was fired from the diocese Oct. 3, 2018, which was later changed to an administrative leave. In May, he was told that he was no longer employed by the Diocese of Jackson. He filed the lawsuit earlier this month, saying his firing was in retaliation for his complaints about how the budget is handled.
"The reasons proffered for de Lange's termination were false, pretextual, and did not rise to the level of grave reason," claims the lawsuit. The suit further states that it is "inexplicable" that de Lange was fired for a grave reason due to the lack of any sort of performance review during his employment.
"De Lange's discharge was retaliatory in nature based upon his reasonable objection to the unrealistic budget proposed for Catholic Charities and the potential adverse impact it posed to the diocese," said the suit. According to the filing, the Diocese of Jackson serves as the guarantor of Catholic Charities, and Catholic Charities does not need permission to remove money from the diocese's checking account.
In the suit, de Lange claims he was wrongfully terminated, and that he had been defamed by the diocese, which negligently and intentionally inflicted emotional distress. He is not asking for a certain amount in damages, but requested that the jury determine an appropriate amount.
When de Lange was initially fired in October 2018, Kopacz sent him a letter stating that he was being fired due to a "weakened financial and administrative condition of the diocese," an "unexpected large deficit" during that fiscal year, "internal problems reflected in the prior year's audit report and anticipated in this year's report," and a "lack of leadership, communication and collaboration" between his office and diocesean leadership.
de Lange disputes these claims, and instead says that Kopacz had been looking to terminate him since 2016. That year, de Lange did not support Kopacz being named as the interim executive director of the diocesesan board of directors. De Lange said that he believed Kopacz being in this position created a conflict of interest, as board members of the board of directors were employees of the bishop and therefore could not fire him.
Normally, the board is able to terminate the executive director - but this would not be possible if the interim executive director is the bishop himself.
In a statement given to the Clarion Ledger, the Diocese of Jackson said they stood by their reasons for dismissing de Lange in 2018 and that is the "general policy of the Diocese not to comment on pending litigation and personnel matters."
---
'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'
Copyright 2021 - Distributed by Catholic Online
We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.
Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.Help Now >
Join the Movement
When you sign up below, you don't just join an email list - you're joining an entire movement for Free world class Catholic education.
-
-
Saint of the Day for Sunday, Sept 24th, 2023
-
Mysteries of the Rosary
-
Saints & Angels
-
Female / Women Saints
-
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
-
Bible
-
Popular Saints
-
Patron Saints A-Z
-
The Apostles' Creed
-
St. Michael the Archangel
America's Bishop, Joseph Strickland, Responds to Reports of Vatican Meeting, Affirms Commitment to ...
-
Woman Arrested for Silent Prayer Outside U.K. Abortion Clinic Receives Apology and Vindication
-
Pope Francis Urges Humanity to Choose Fraternity Over Indifference in Migrant Crisis
-
Defending Faith and Authority: Cardinal Muller Backs Bishop Strickland
-
Small arms cause enormous suffering
Daily Catholic
Daily Readings for Monday, September 25, 2023
St. Finbar: Saint of the Day for Monday, September 25, 2023
The Prayer Thank You God!: Prayer of the Day for Monday, September 25, 2023
- Daily Readings for Sunday, September 24, 2023
- Martyrs of Chalcedon: Saint of the Day for Sunday, September 24, 2023
- Haiku Prayer 10: Prayer of the Day for Sunday, September 24, 2023
FREE Catholic Classes Pick a class, you can learn anything
Copyright 2023 Catholic Online. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, © Copyright 2023 Catholic Online. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited.
Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. Your Catholic Voice Foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law.