Mission Abandoned: How the Coalition for Canceled Priests Failed Its Calling

When I first entered the grand ballroom of the Hilton in Rosemont, Illinois, in June 2023, I was filled with hope. The Coalition for Canceled Priests’ “A House United” conference promised to galvanize support for marginalized clergy who had been silenced for upholding traditional Catholic teachings. As someone dedicated to building authentic Catholic communities, I saw in this organization a potential ally in supporting priests who courageously stood for timeless truths.

What I couldn’t have known then was that I was witnessing what would become one of the most troubling examples of mission drift I’ve encountered in my years of analyzing nonprofit operations.

The Numbers Tell the Story

I regularly review IRS Form 990 filings for nonprofits, and I’ve developed a practiced eye for spotting misalignment between an organization’s stated mission and its financial reality. When I examined the Coalition’s publicly available filings from 2021 through 2024, what I found was a disturbing pattern of declining support for the very priests the organization claims to serve.

These are the percentages of total expenses going to direct priest support over the last four years:

• 2021: 25.2% ($63,232 of $251,396)
• 2022: 18.0% ($176,802 of $984,002)
• 2023: 21.6% ($183,131 of $846,966)
• 2024: 6.6% ($42,747 of $647,605)

In just three years, the percentage of expenses directed toward actual priest support dropped by nearly 75 percent, with the most dramatic collapse occurring in 2024—after the removal of co-founder Fr. John Lovell.

To put these numbers in perspective, the average Catholic parish priest in the United States earns approximately $35,000-$45,000 per year plus housing allowance. The $647,605 spent by the Coalition in 2024 could have fully supported 18 priests at $35,000 each.

Instead, here’s the shocking reality: just seven priests received a total of $42,747 in direct grants—an average of $6,107 each.

Let that number sink in. Seven priests—across the entire United States—received an average of just $6,107 each for the entire year.

To understand how inadequate this is, consider that $6,107 equals:

• Less than $509 per month
• Roughly $17 per day
• Less than many people spend on their monthly car payment
• Barely enough to cover rent in most American cities, let alone food, transportation, health care, and other basic needs

These are men who dedicated their lives to serving God and His people. Many of them hold advanced degrees in theology and have years of pastoral experience. They now find themselves trying to survive on what many Americans spend on entertainment in a few months.

The math is staggering. While one executive received $100,000—more than double what all seven supported priests received combined—these clergy were left to figure out how to live on less than $17 a day.

The 2024 spending breakdown reveals troubling priorities:

• $100,000 to the president’s salary—That is nearly three times the average salary of a parish priest and more than double what all seven supported priests received combined.
• $140,121 on a single fundraiser—This event generated only $42,848 in revenue, resulting in a net loss of $97,273.
• $450,800 classified as “program expenses”—While this broad category could theoretically include legitimate support for cancelled priests, such as housing assistance or other aid, the lack of transparency raises questions about why these funds weren’t directed toward direct grants to priests in need.

Perhaps most unconscionable, while providing these pathetically inadequate grants to just seven priests, the Coalition is holding $1,563,465 in total assets, including $401,629 in cash and $1,080,575 in savings and temporary investments.

Think about this contradiction: the organization has enough money sitting in bank accounts to provide each of their seven supported priests with $223,352. Instead, they gave them $6,107 each and kept the rest invested. But invested in what? For what purpose?

With their current assets, they could:

• Provide full $35,000 salaries to all seven priests for over six years without raising another penny
• Support 44 priests at $35,000 each for an entire year
• Create an endowment that, at a modest 5% return, would generate $78,173 annually—enough to properly support multiple priests in perpetuity

Yet they chose to give seven men a combined $42,747 while hoarding over $1.5 million.

This isn’t financial prudence. It is a betrayal of every donor who gave in good faith, expecting their contributions to help priests in need. Every dollar sitting in those investment accounts represents a donation from a faithful Catholic who trusted the Coalition to use their money to support cancelled priests—not to build a nonprofit’s war chest.

The dramatic shift in financial priorities becomes even more significant when examined against the circumstances surrounding Fr. John Lovell’s removal in December 2023. The Vice President of the Board, Fr. James Altman, issued a public letter making serious accusations that, compared to the organization’s subsequent financial performance, reveal notable contradictions.

Comparing the Accusations to the Results

Executive Compensation: Fr. Altman condemned Fr. Lovell for allegedly receiving “excess of $50,000” plus housing, characterizing this as excessive. The 2024 tax filing shows President Tom Ogelsby received $100,000—exactly double what the former leadership allegedly received.

Financial Management: The accusations included claims of financial irresponsibility and “living large” on donor funds. Under the new leadership, the organization spent $140,121 on a single fundraising event that lost $97,273—a 326 percent cost-to-raise ratio that far exceeds acceptable nonprofit standards.

Mission Focus: The former leadership was criticized for failing in accountability to donors and the mission. Under the new board’s oversight, direct priest support dropped to just 6.6 percent of total expenses—the lowest in the organization’s history.

Scale of Support: The December 2023 statement claimed the Coalition had “provided charitable assistance to 33 priests.” The 2024 tax filing shows support for just seven priests—a 79 percent reduction.

Housing Controversy: The purchase of housing property under the former leadership was condemned as financial malfeasance. Yet, according to Fr. Scott DuVall, the Coalition’s former Priestly Assistance Coordinator, the organization subsequently “made homeless a verified Canceled Priest during the winter months” while sitting on $1.5 million in assets.

The Whistleblower’s Account and the Human Cost

In January 2024, Fr. Scott DuVall resigned from his position as the Coalition’s Priestly Assistance Coordinator in a letter so critical that he declared himself a whistleblower. His insider testimony revealed that the Coalition had “changed the core Mission” and was refusing “ongoing assistance to needy priests,” limiting aid to “emergency needs” only. He also reported that recommendations to approve newly qualified priests went “weeks and weeks with no vote taken” and that Coalition leadership was “allowing two, if not three, 501c3s and/or LLCs to siphon off funds to support their companies.”

The plight of cancelled priests extends far beyond financial hardship, and the Coalition’s 2024 support reveals the human cost of organizational failure. These seven men—the only priests receiving direct grants from an organization that claims to champion cancelled clergy—represent a fraction of the priests who need help.

Consider what $6,107 per year actually means for a cancelled priest: a priest receiving this amount faces impossible choices daily. Does he pay rent or buy groceries? Does he maintain his car so he can look for work, or does he pay for health care? Many of these men, who answered God’s highest calling and dedicated years to theological training, find themselves suddenly thrust into situations of profound humiliation.

Priests with doctoral degrees in theology—men who once led parishes and guided souls—now find themselves stocking shelves at grocery stores, delivering packages, or working construction just to survive. The psychological toll is equally devastating. These priests, who once celebrated Mass for hundreds and offered spiritual guidance to their communities, now find themselves isolated and grappling with a crisis of identity as their pastoral roles are stripped away.

The broader picture is even more troubling. If the Coalition once claimed to support 33 priests but now assists only seven, what happened to the other 26? Are they now completely without support? Have they been forced to abandon their vocations entirely? The Coalition’s dramatic reduction in support doesn’t mean the need disappeared—it means they abandoned priests who were counting on their help.

These men didn’t enter the priesthood for money or comfort. They answered God’s call to serve His people. When they’re marginalized for remaining faithful to that call, receiving $17 per day in support while the organization hoards $1.5 million isn’t assistance—it’s abandonment dressed up as charity.

What Donors Deserve to Know

Every person who donated to the Coalition for Canceled Priests trusted their hard-earned money to an organization that promised to support priests facing persecution for upholding Catholic teaching. The financial records raise serious questions about whether that trust was honored.

For perspective on 2024 spending: If you donated $100, only $6.60 went directly to priest support while $15.44 funded executive salaries and $21.65 was lost on a failed fundraising event.

These are public documents—IRS Form 990 filings available through ProPublica, GuideStar, or by request from the organization. Every donor has the right to examine these records and determine whether the financial reality matches what they were told when they made their donations.

A Path Forward

The mission of supporting faithful priests who face unjust marginalization is too important to be abandoned because of organizational failures. The contrast between the Coalition’s current 6.6 percent priest support rate and what’s possible with proper stewardship demonstrates that the problem isn’t donor generosity but organizational priorities.

Effective priest support requires transparent operations where donors can see exactly how their money is used. It demands accountability systems that ensure the vast majority of donations—90 percent or more—reach the priests they’re intended to help. Most importantly, it requires leadership committed to the mission rather than administrative convenience. Effective priest support requires transparent operations where donors can see exactly how their money is used. Tweet This

Because this mission is so critically important, we have established a specific Cancelled Priest Fund under the Restoring Christian Culture Initiative to support these priests. In 2024 alone, we were able to provide over $100,000 in support to cancelled priests through room and board, Mass stipends, and employment opportunities in our school—demonstrating our ability to efficiently carry this mission of support forward. We invite people to visit our website and partner with us if they, too, want to see these men supported with the dignity and transparency they deserve.

The real solution lies in supporting efforts that prioritize transparency, efficiency, and genuine service. This means detailed financial reporting, minimal administrative overhead, and clear accountability to donors. It means treating cancelled priests with dignity by providing meaningful support—not token amounts that barely cover basic expenses.

The priests who have sacrificed everything for their fidelity to Catholic tradition deserve authentic support not organizational mismanagement. The faithful Catholics who donate to help them deserve to know their generosity actually reaches those in need.

The path forward requires holding all organizations—regardless of their stated mission—accountable to their donors and the people they claim to serve. Only through such accountability can we ensure that future efforts to support cancelled priests succeed where others have failed.