Pope dismisses priest who stole $300K from bishop, hospital

Monsignor Edward Arsenault also served as the face of the church in the state during a sex abuse scandal.

Pope Francis waves to the crowd as he arrives for a weekly general audience at the Paul VI audience Hall on April 5, 2017 in Vatican. Pope Francis on Wednesday condemned a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria that left more than 70 dead in a rebel-held town as an "unacceptable massacre". "We watch horrified as the latest events in Syria unfold," Francis said at his midweek public audience in St Peter's square. / AFP PHOTO / Filippo MONTEFORTE

Pope Francis has dismissed a Roman Catholic priest from New Hampshire, who was convicted of stealing $3,00,000 from a hospital, a bishop and a deceased priest’s estate.

Monsignor Edward Arsenault, who served as the face of the church in the state during a sex abuse scandal, pleaded guilty to three theft charges in 2014 and is serving a jail sentence.

Thou art priest no more

The Diocese of Manchester said Friday that Arsenault no longer has “faculties to act, function, or present himself as a priest.”

Prosecutors said Arsenault billed the church for lavish meals and travel for himself and often a male partner.