Father Richard Storey, a Catholic priest who led a suburban Kansas City parish for a decade, faces criminal charges after an internal audit and police investigation allegedly uncovered more than $159,000 in unauthorized personal spending on a church credit card, a tab that included cruise vacations, trips to London and Paris, casino cash withdrawals, Nordstrom Rack shopping sprees, and donations he made to his own church using the church's own money.

Storey served as pastor of Curé of Ars Catholic Church in Leawood, Kansas, from 2015 until his resignation in September 2025. He is now out on a $25,000 bond and due back in court July 15, the Daily Mail reported, citing court records and an affidavit it reviewed.

The scope of the alleged theft, and the brazenness of the spending, makes this more than a bookkeeping dispute. It is another case of a trusted religious leader accused of treating the faithful's generosity as a personal expense account, while the people filling the pews had no idea where their money was going.

The numbers behind the alleged scheme

A diocesan audit covering 2021 through 2025 identified what investigators say was $159,326.92 in unauthorized charges. Court records show the church credit card carried $312,566.46 in total charges over that period. Many of those transactions were legitimate. But as the charging documents noted, "it is unknown exactly how many charges were for personal matters due to the lack of documentation or memos turned into finance by Father Storey."

A separate, broader figure in the records puts total spending from an unspecified combination of sources at $590,428.83 over the same four-year window. That second figure also carried the same caveat, the full personal-versus-parish breakdown remains unclear because Storey allegedly kept no records.

The affidavit laid out the alleged spending in categories. Cruises topped the list at $77,025.52. Non-cruise travel, to London, Paris, Dublin, and New York, added another $27,079.09. Medical and wellness charges came to $11,687. Dental expenses totaled $4,438.90. Retail purchases, including charges at Nordstrom Rack, ran $5,906.65.

Then there was the casino. During one cruise, a $23,904.14 cash withdrawal appeared on the church credit card statement, labeled "casino cash withdraw."

Fake donations from the church to the church

Perhaps the most revealing line item: $22,663.43 in "donations" Storey allegedly made to Curé of Ars, using the parish's own credit card. The affidavit stated plainly what that meant: "Because these funds came from the church credit card instead of being made as a personal donation, the transaction did not result in any net financial benefit to the church."

Worse, investigators said the sham gifts distorted the parish's books. "These transactions artificially inflated the reported fundraising totals without generating any new external funds," the affidavit stated. In other words, the parish looked healthier on paper than it actually was, and Storey may have looked more generous than he actually was.

It is a pattern that should concern any congregation that relies on trust and thin oversight to manage donated funds. A former New York church board member was recently indicted on 24 counts for allegedly stealing $3.8 million from a congregation, a reminder that financial exploitation in religious institutions is neither rare nor small.

How the investigation unfolded

The Prairie Village Police Department notified the Archdiocese of Kansas City in September 2025 that it was investigating Storey and an unnamed second adult regarding the priest's spending. Storey then advised the Archdiocese of his decision to resign. The diocese initiated its own financial review.

That review produced the findings now at the center of the criminal case. Church officials told investigators, as the affidavit recorded, "this was a gross misuse of church funds, and Storey would have known that these expenses were not to be covered by church funds." Pastors receive a fixed salary. Personal expenses and vacations are not covered by the parish.

Storey declined to provide a statement to investigators.

The audit also flagged additional payments from a second source whose identity was redacted in court filings. The identity of the second adult under investigation has not been disclosed either. Both remain open threads in a case that may grow before it resolves.

The Archdiocese appointed Father John Riley as temporary administrator after Storey's departure. Riley was named permanent pastor in February 2026. The criminal charges against Storey followed months later.

The Archbishop responds

Archbishop Shawn McKnight released a public statement on May 23 acknowledging the damage. He described the situation in measured but unmistakable terms:

"This news is deeply painful for all of us in the Catholic community, particularly given the nature of the allegations involving resources entrusted to the church through the sacrifice and generosity of the faithful."

McKnight said his "primary concern at this time is for the people of Curé of Ars parish and all those directly affected." He noted that Storey is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court or through an internal canonical process.

He also confirmed that the diocese's own review had led to the law enforcement referral: "During the course of the review, information was identified that warranted referral to law enforcement." McKnight asked parishioners to "treat one another with greater sensitivity, patience, charity, and respect as we move through this together."

That is a reasonable request. But it does not answer the harder question: how did a single pastor allegedly run up six figures in personal charges over four years without anyone catching it sooner?

A broader pattern of betrayal

Storey, described as a former funeral director before entering the priesthood, led a parish whose members trusted him with their tithes and offerings. The affidavit noted that the church never received reimbursement for the cruise expenses. The lack of documentation submitted to the parish finance office meant the spending went unquestioned, or at least unchallenged, for years.

This is not the first time a religious leader's hidden conduct has shattered a congregation's trust. The Department of Justice recently moved to strip citizenship from a convicted priest who sexually abused children in Maryland, a far graver crime, but one that shares the same corrosive dynamic: a man in a collar exploiting the deference his position commands.

Financial crimes in churches often go undetected for years precisely because congregants extend trust that a secular employer would not. Parishes are not Fortune 500 companies. They typically lack robust internal controls, independent auditors, or whistleblower mechanisms. When a pastor controls the credit card and nobody asks for receipts, the system runs on faith in every sense of the word.

At a June 2 court hearing, Storey's attorney asked the judge to allow the priest to access computers and the internet. The judge granted the request. The specific criminal charges Storey faces have not been publicly detailed in available court records. His next court appearance is set for July 15.

The case also raises questions about institutional accountability. The Archdiocese conducted the audit that surfaced the alleged misconduct, a point in its favor. But the spending allegedly stretched across four years. Whether the diocese had earlier warning signs it missed or ignored remains an open question. When trusted religious figures lead double lives, the institutions around them inevitably face scrutiny over what they knew and when.

What comes next

Storey has not spoken publicly. He declined to give a statement to investigators, and no attorney comments have been reported. The presumption of innocence applies, as Archbishop McKnight correctly noted. But the affidavit's specificity, dollar amounts broken down by category, credit card statements itemized, fake donations explained, paints a detailed picture that Storey's defense team will need to address.

The parishioners of Curé of Ars deserve answers. They gave sacrificially, trusting that their offerings would serve the church's mission. If the allegations hold up, what they funded instead was a lifestyle of cruises, casinos, and designer retail, all hidden behind a Roman collar and a finance office that apparently never asked the right questions.

Trust, once broken in a parish, is not rebuilt by press releases. It is rebuilt by transparency, accountability, and consequences, the same things the faithful have every right to demand from any institution that asks for their money and their faith.