Parish asks why Bruno audit has not been released

The congregation of St. James the Great Episcopal Church this week is calling on Bishop Jon Bruno of the Los Angeles Diocese to release the annual audit of his sole corporation, as he promised at the Diocesan Convention last Dec. 5. “After nearly two months, the Diocesan community is still waiting for the Bishop to act on his promise to the convention,” said Sue Rawlings of the congregation’s transition committee. “To be honest, this is reaching a point where some might question the Bishop’s good faith. It could very well dissipate whatever good will delegates may have felt toward the Bishop right after the convention.” The bishop’s promise to release the annual audit came as the convention was considering a measure to require a public third-party audit of the corporation, called the “Corp Sole,” which has the bishop as its sole officer. Corp Sole holds upwards of 60 real properties plus other assets. An annual audit of Corp Sole is required by state law, but that audit goes to the bishop as sole officer and has never been shared with the governing bodies of the Diocese or the public. As a result of the bishop’s promise to release his audit to anyone who wants to see it, backers of the independent audit in good faith withdrew their proposed resolution. Both moves drew appreciative applause from the nearly 600 delegates. Since the convention, members of St. James the Great have requested a copy of the audit on several occasions, but have yet to receive either the audit or a date when they can expect to get it.