Belleville, Ill., Jan 16, 2008 / 04:25 am
Priests of the Diocese of Belleville are seeking an explanation from their bishop after he reportedly bought liturgical vestments with donations marked for a Vatican world outreach fund, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
An employee at House of Hansen, a tailor of clerical vestments in Braxton’s hometown of Chicago, said Bishop Braxton ordered five sets of vestments, a miter, and a tunic last year. At least some of the vestments were worn by the bishop, two deacons and two priests, all of whom were ordained in May.
Questions about the funding for the vestments date back to a diocesan financial council meeting in November, when Bishop Edward Braxton was asked how he paid for the new vestments. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch sources, who requested anonymity because of council members’ oath of secrecy, claimed Bishop Braxton said the $8,000 expenditure came from a fund for international mission work.
The mission fund is supported by collections taken up on World Mission Sunday, the second-to-last Sunday of October. It is supervised by the Propagation of the Faith offices on diocesan and national levels and has an international office at the Vatican.