Bishop orders audit, election of new finance committee after Chase the Ace controversy in Bay de Verde

Achurch leader has ordered a financial audit of a hugely successful fundraiser in the small Conception Bay community of Bay de Verde, N.L.,and directedthe Parish of the Assumption to elect a new finance committee.

• A church divided: Chase the Ace hysteria in Bay de Verde replaced by controversy

"It is worth our time to seriously reflect on the fact that what seemed like a great blessing (financial security) has also exposed divisiveness, suspicions and distrust," Rev. Anthony Daniels, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Falls, wrote in a recent letter to parishioners.

Tension flared in June after questions arose about how the money from the Chase the Ace eventwas being spent, including the process by which some contracts were being awarded. A decision to give $100,000 to a neighbouring parish in Northern Bay also angered some residents. One parishioner said, "That money was raised for Bay de Verde. Not to be given away to Northern Bay."

Thefundraiser began attracting thousands to the community of about 400 last fall.

• Ace drawn in Bay de Verde, group of 10 to split $733K jackpot

The ace of spades was finally drawn on Sept. 21, with a group of 10 splitting a jackpot of more than $730,000.

The reward for the tiny parish that once struggled to pay itsbills was even greater.Afinancial statement obtained by CBC showsthe totalincome for the parishin 2016 was just under $2.5 million, with much of that attributed to Chase the Ace.

It's not clear how much the parish got from the event, but the moneyis being used for repairs to the church, parishhall and a parish house.

Bitterness and infighting

Theelation has been replaced by bitterness and infighting. During aspecial parish meeting in late June, the bishop laid out a series of directives aimed at healing the division and addressing concerns.

"The reason for asking for that audit is really to demonstrate, hopefully, that everythingwas done by the up-and-up," Daniels told CBC News.

"If not, then we'll learn from it. But at this point I have no reason to believe that anything that was done was intended to mislead either the diocese or the parish."

The audit will begin in the fall, and the results will be made available to parishioners,Danielssaid.

The bishop said there will be a new election this fall to replace the current finance committee.

"I think that there was a feeling on the part of some parishioners that the finance committee didn't have theirconfidence, but I think, more importantly, many of the finance committee members questioned whether or not they had the confidence of the parishioners," he said.

"And without that, they felt they couldn't exercise theirmandate. So it was really almost a mutual decision to move in that direction."

'Money can really bring out some ugliness'

It was expectedthe vast sums of money pouring into the parish wouldincrease the levelof scrutiny towards those making the spending decisions.

The bishop suggestedcommunicating those decisions could have been done better.

"Having a lot of money is not necessarily better than having none, because having a lot of money can really bring out some ugliness in any one of us," he said.

"But, more importantly, I think that we've learned that when the stakes get high,it's important to be as transparent as possible, and as well to communicate well and to follow the procedures that are laid out as closely as possible."

The bishop said he has no plans to ban Chase the Ace, asmany parishes have benefited from the fundraiser.

"In the other parishes it was fun, entertaining, raised a little money and no harm was done."