Diocese gave €42K inheritance to poor

The office of the archbishop in Utrecht used almost €42,000 of an inheritance that was obtained to help "the most forgotten and outcast of society" to buy Sinterklaas- and Christmas presents. Staff members of the pastorship received a bonus of €300,000. An investigation from the archbishopric, following a report from the NRC, revealed that the diocese, under leadership from archbishop Eijk, misused the inheritance to pay office costs for the settlement of complaints from abuse victims. The bishops have been in money problems for years die to the churches losing money. Costs for settling abuse complaints came on top of that. RTV Utrecht announced on Tuesday that the inheritance of a rich widow from a prominent Catholic family in Utrecht was never paid out to the beneficiaries by the diocese. Usually, the bishop staff puts the money that is used for presents back on the account of the Caritas Mother Theresa Foundation, in which the inheritance is categorized. The €42,000 inheritance was given out in Sinterklaas and Christmas presents when Simonis was still active as archbishop.