Windsor lawyer Paul Mullins discovered that during the two and a half years of the first major fundraising drive to restore that began in 2009, fundraisers actually spent $450,000 more than they raised. A second, more modest, attempt to find money to restore the 173-year-old church ran aground when an unsuccessful, $193,000 repair job on the heating system resulted in winter temperatures inside the sanctuary of seven degrees. The prospect of freezing parishioners caused the diocese to transfer Sunday Masses to nearby Holy Name of Mary in 2014.
With nobody sure where the money was going, the second fundraising drive was also abandoned, leaving the church鱿鱼视频app future in limbo.
Ten months in the making, the Mullins report faults Bishop Ron Fabbro for failing to share with the Assumption fundraising board and Assumption parish key information contained in a confidential contract with Philanthropic Management Consultants, Inc. (PMC) 鈥� the company hired by the diocese on the recommendation of the parish. PMC was given a five-year contract and paid $20,000 a month to manage the first fundraising drive with the goal of raising $9.6 million.
Fabbro, who opened up the Diocese of London鱿鱼视频app books to Mullins, urged diocesan personnel to co-operate with the respected Windsor lawyer and was himself interviewed extensively for the report, isn鈥檛 upset he has been held up in a negative light before parishioners and the citizens of Windsor.
鈥淚 am grateful for it,鈥� Fabbro told The Catholic Register. 鈥淚 wanted to get the information out there. In a way, I think we had to clear the air before we could move forward.鈥�
Mullins will produce a second and final report this fall which charts a way forward for restoring Assumption Church.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to lose the momentum that this initial report seems to have generated,鈥� he said.
With publication of the report, one of the original donors to the first campaign, Al Quesnel, has already pledged $5 million to any future fundraising drive.
鈥淲e need major donations here for this to move forward. I think clearing of the air was essential,鈥� said Fabbro.
Of all the mistakes made, signing an agreement that included strict confidentiality clauses was the worst, said the bishop.
鈥淚t was presented as, 鈥業f you want this fundraiser, this is what we require to do the job.鈥� That鱿鱼视频app why we did it. But it was a mistake,鈥� Fabbro said. 鈥淚t led to mistrust and my constant complaint as this started was that we needed to be more transparent.鈥�
Mullins鈥� interim report also calls it a mistake.
鈥淚t was a serious mistake for the diocese to enter into a 鈥榗onfidential鈥� commercial fundraising agreement because it prevented full accountability to the donors,鈥� Mullins writes in the report.
As Fabbro became more involved in the campaign in 2011, he assumed the terms of the agreement with PMC had already been shared with the foundation board, which was set up locally to oversee funds for the restoration. It was only with the publication of Mullins鈥� report that board members and the bishop learned the source of years of misunderstanding and often bitter recriminations between the diocese and the board.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 believe it when I saw that,鈥� said retired deputy chief of the Windsor Police Service and Assumption Heritage Trust Foundation board member Jerome Branigan. 鈥淎s soon as I saw it and read it, it answered so many questions for me. I was very happy to finally have the whole picture.鈥�
Because board members had no clear picture of the terms of employment for PMC, they easily allowed the fundraising company to expand its role and its billings beyond the terms of the contract. The fundraisers began to also manage concurrent renovation efforts, said the report, which was not part of the original contract.
鈥淧MC created three budgets called 鈥楥ampaign Investment Budget,鈥� 鈥楩oundation Administration Budget,鈥� and 鈥楻estoration Program Budget.鈥� PMC allocated expenses between these three budgets. None of these expenses were deducted from PMC鱿鱼视频app $20,000 monthly fee,鈥� the report said.
Fabbro cancelled the contract with PMC in February 2012. Although the PMC role and billings expanded beyond the terms of the original contract, Branigan doesn鈥檛 think PMC鱿鱼视频app actions amount to anything criminal.
鈥淚 advised the board as well as the bishop and (PMC principal) Mr. (John) Laframboise. I said, 鈥楬ey, I鈥檒l have two detectives in here in 20 seconds that will take any complaint,鈥� 鈥� said Branigan. 鈥淚t鱿鱼视频app my opinion that everyone was very satisfied that there was no criminality going on.鈥�
LaFramboise would not comment on the report when contacted by The Register.
Mullins said he wasn鈥檛 looking for a bad guy when he took on the pro bono investigation.
鈥淢y purpose was really to give a clarification as to what went wrong,鈥� Mullins said.
In his report, Mullins names the culture of secrecy in the Church as an underlying problem.
鈥淐onfidentiality concerns are imbedded in the culture of the Catholic Church,鈥� Mullins writes. 鈥淐onfidentiality is an incredibly important value. It can also be a serious weakness when it is applied in inappropriate circumstances.鈥�
Fabbro believes Mullins has hit the nail on the head when it comes to the Church and secrecy and hopes to chart a new course in his diocese.
鈥淲e need to be transparent as a Church,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鱿鱼视频app my whole support for producing this report. It had to be independent. It wasn鈥檛 going to be something I was going to sort of control..鈥�
Mullins gives Fabbro full marks for encouraging him to investigate and never flinching when the report was made public Aug. 12. The bishop read the report before it was released and immediately drafted a letter to Assumption parishioners, accepting responsibility for mistakes that were made.