A former dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Pittsburgh has admitted in court to stealing baseball cards from a suburban Walmart, while a separate church investigation continues into the handling of the cathedral’s historic property.
Local station KDKA–CBS reports that the Very Rev. Aidan Smith, formerly dean of Trinity Cathedral, has pleaded guilty to one count of retail theft in a case arising from a series of incidents at a Walmart in Economy Borough, Beaver County. Court records cited by NBC News state that Smith was arrested on 27 February after store security stopped him leaving the shop; police say he was found with 27 packs of baseball cards concealed under his clothing and in a cardboard box. The value of the cards was put at about 1,100 dollars, and Smith was initially charged with retail theft and receiving stolen property.
CBS reports that under a plea agreement the retail theft charge was downgraded from a felony to a summary offence, and Smith paid a $201 fine in connection with the Walmart case. Earlier reports noted that he had been released on 50,000 dollars’ bail while the criminal matter was pending. Smith has not issued any public statement about the plea, and there has been no report of a custodial sentence in the shoplifting case.
Smith had served as dean and chief priest of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Pittsburgh, the principal church of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh. Diocesan communications reported Smith was placed on administrative leave in late January, several weeks before his arrest, while diocesan leaders examined questions about his stewardship of cathedral property.
After the criminal charges became public, the Rt. Rev. Ketlen Solak wrote to the cathedral congregation to announce that Smith had offered his resignation as dean and that she had accepted it. She said that she, members of the diocesan executive committee, and Canon Mary Jayne Ledgerwood would oversee the cathedral’s operations on an interim basis. The bishop acknowledged that the news would be “deeply upsetting” for parishioners and asked the diocese to pray for Smith, his family, and the cathedral community “as we grieve this news, and for everyone involved in this hard situation.”
Bishop Solak has stated that the matter is being handled under Title IV, The Episcopal Church’s disciplinary process for clergy. She said that a Title IV case had already been opened before the arrest, and that the criminal allegations and concerns about safeguarding church property would proceed “as one Title IV case.” She stressed that clergy “are presumed innocent in Title IV matters unless or until proven otherwise” and asked for prayers “for everyone impacted by this difficult situation.”
Pittsburgh television station WTAE, citing diocesan officials, reports that the diocese is investigating whether cathedral artifacts and other church property may have been sold online without authorization. Bishop Solak has said that for several weeks diocesan leaders have been looking into questions about whether Smith “failed to safeguard church property,” including the possibility that cathedral items were sold through online platforms.
CBS reports that the investigation into the alleged theft or sale of artifacts is being reviewed by an internal disciplinary board made up of representatives from five Episcopal dioceses, which has a range of possible responses at its disposal. In the meantime, Smith is banned from entering Trinity Cathedral while the disciplinary process continues.
The diocese has not announced a timetable for concluding the Title IV case or for permanent appointments at Trinity Cathedral. For now, the public record shows that the civil authorities have brought the Walmart matter to a close with a guilty plea and fine, while the church continues to examine the wider questions about the stewardship of the cathedral’s patrimony under Smith’s tenure as dean.