Although they promised an era of transparency after two priests were arrested and imprisoned, St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church officials still refuse to answer questions about the church’s finances and retaliate against parishioners who ask questions, according to a lawsuit filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court.
Paul and Michele Maresca, former parishioners from Boynton Beach, said their children, Michael, 11, and Danielle, 7, were expelled from the parish school after the Marescas questioned a 20 percent tuition increase this year, from $5,000 to $6,000. The school informed them by fax on Aug. 17, the night before school started, that their children were no longer welcome, Paul Maresca said at a news conference on Thursday.
“It’s been very painful,” Maresca said. “It’s a difficult time for our family. We did nothing but support the parish and the school.”
The Marescas, accompanied at the news conference by about 15 former St. Vincent Ferrer parishioners, think the church has more money than it claims, including an endowment that could contain more than $4 million, according to the suit.
Parish administrator John Krolikowski, one of the three officials sued by the Marescas, said Thursday night the school decided not to enroll the children because the parents “chose not to abide by our policies.”
Paul Maresca threatened church officials by saying he would file a lawsuit and contact the media, Krolikowski said. He posed his questions at a school parents’ meeting, an inappropriate time, Krolikowski said, and never asked for an appointment so officials could explain the tuition hike.
Tuition had not increased for three years prior to this year, Krolikowski said, adding that the school must cover a $3,000 shortfall per student.
The school does take money out of the endowment, which the Diocese of Palm Beach said totals about $2 million, but “you can’t drain the endowment,” Krolikowski said.
The Marescas sued Krolikowski, Vikki Delgado, the school principal; and the Rev. Thomas Skindeleski, the church’s pastor.
Skindeleski came to the church in 2005, replacing the Rev. Francis Guinan, 66, who was sentenced in March to four years in prison for stealing between $20,000 and $100,000 from the church’s coffers to pay for trips, gambling and support for a girlfriend. He was ordered to repay $99,999.
Guinan succeeded the Rev. John Skehan, 81, who is serving a 14-month sentence for grand theft of more than $100,000, also from the church. Investigators said he stole $370,000 that he spent on a girlfriend, trips, homes, and other property in Florida and his native Ireland.
Jack Scarola, the Marescas’ attorney, said the parish was devastated by the arrests. He said he will seek explanations of the church’s finances as the lawsuit proceeds.
