Chicago Sun-Times writer Steve Patterson reports today on the disconcerting story of a parish business manager who warned the chancery about his pastor's questionable spending habits and was told to keep his yap shut--then fired.

Brockhagen was business manager at St. Margaret Mary -- theNorthwest Side parish [Rev. Mark] Sorvillo was convicted of stealing thousands ofdollars from. In that role, Brockhagen was responsible for overseeingfinancial records.

Sorvillo, it later emerged, was spending lavishly on himself and a male stripper he met at a gay club.

Says concerns rejected

Brockhagen was never charged with any wrongdoing and neverofficially implicated as being involved in Sorvillo's years-long scam.Yet the cloud hangs over him, through a skeptical glance or quietwhispers around the neighborhood, Brockhagen and parishioners say.

He had to know something, they speculate. How could he not have known?

In fact, Brockhagen says, he did know about Sorvillo's spendinghabits -- and brought them to the attention of the archdiocese multipletimes. Each time, he claims, archdiocese officials asked him to remainquiet.

But now that Brockhagen has been fired -- and filed a retaliatorydischarge lawsuit against church leaders -- he says he feels more freeto talk about what he knew and when he knew it.

Read the rest right here.