Parañaque bishop denies misuse of Church funds

MANILA, Philippines - Parañaque Bishop Jesse Mercado yesterday denied allegations that he misused millions of funds reportedly intended for calamities and other projects of the diocese.

Complaints have been filed against the 61-year-old bishop. But he said he was not worried about the investigation and believed that he did nothing wrong.

He said the priests filed the complaint against him because they opposed the transfer of some priests to other parishes.

While the complaint has reached the Papal Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Giuseppi Pinto, he said he would stand by “what is true.”

He admitted that he met with the Papal Nuncio but they only discussed some of the issues raised in the complaint letter but not the diversion of millions of funds.