Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kingston, Rev'd Edgerton Clarke (centre), tries to explain to reporters yesterday the circumstances under which a piece of land bequeathed to the church was used as collateral for a loan by Deacon Ronald Thwaites. At left is Vicar-General Father Mock Yen and Judicial Vicar Father Michael Lewis. - Rudolph Brown/Staff Photographer SENIOR OFFICIALS of the local Roman Catholic Church were hard-pressed to explain yesterday how the Archdiocese of Kingston was used as guarantor in 1995 for a US$370,000 loan for one of its deacons and former Central Kingston Member of Parliament, Ronald Thwaites, now at the centre of controversy over allegations of financial impropriety.
At a press conference at the Roman Catholic chancery in Kingston 6, Archbishop Edgerton Clarke said the use of church land in 1995 as collateral for Mr. Thwaites' loan "was ill-advised ... the church should not have become involved".
At the same time, church officials sought to explain Mr. Thwaites had had some support for his actions.
"It was the Archbishop of Kingston (Samuel Carter) who stood as guarantor for the loan," said Roman Catholic Judicial Vicar, Father Michael Lewis, at the press conference. "The Archbishop of Kingston by extension is the archdiocese, so it was the archdiocese that guaranteed the loan."
Archbishop Clarke said a woman - a Ms Carter, who died in 1995 had willed a Barbican, St. Andrew property to the Roman Catholic Church, to be used as a home for retired priests.
Monsignor Richard Albert, rector of Stella Maris Church in St. Andrew, told The Gleaner that Mr. Thwaites and one Ms. Lindo were the executors of Ms. Carter's will.
Lawyers suggested last night that if that was so, it would have been improper for Mr. Thwaites as a trustee to have had some interest in the deceased woman's property.
"Mr. Thwaites having some interest in the property goes against the rule of law and the principle of equity," said attorney-at-law Maurice Frankson.
At yesterday's press conference, Archbishop Clarke said it was after he was ordained Archbishop of Kingston in 1995, replacing Samuel Carter, that he was made aware of the woman's title being considered for use as collateral for Mr. Thwaites' loan.
"I took it (information) on the basis of what was said to me. I didn't go into any files. I didn't start asking questions," he said.
He continued: "Some time later, I was called by the person who made the loan (Dehring, Bunting and Golding), and told that the loan wasn't being serviced, and that's when I started to investigate."
According to Archbishop Clarke, his investigation showed Mr. Thwaites received his loan the same year Ms. Carter died. He said it was not until 1997 that the will was probated and the Barbican property transferred to the Roman Catholic Church.
The Archbishop said it was also in 1997 he discovered Mr. Thwaites hadn't been servicing his loan for two years.
Flanked by Vicar-General, Father Mock Yen, and Father Lewis, the Archbishop said former Archbishop Carter did not make a unilateral decision to guarantee Mr. Thwaites' loan, and had no ill-intention in allowing the deacon to use church property as guarantee.
"He always has a body of consultants. It's a body of priests. He can also consult some attorney-at-law," Archbishop Clarke said, explaining that attorney-at-law, Derrick Jones, was the Roman Catholic Church's lawyer.
Contacted yesterday, Mr. Jones said he wasn't the lawyer advising the Roman Catholic Church in 1995 and 1997. Monsignor Albert told The Gleaner that Mr. Thwaites was the legal consultant.
For his part, Archbishop Clarke told reporters that although he was a senior priest in 1995 when Archbishop Carter consulted with his body of priests, he wasn't privy to the consultation. He said he was in Montego Bay at the time.
"In every institution, a leader can be given bad advice. The church received bad advice and took a decision," he said.
He agreed yesterday that the issue of the Catholic Church using its land to guarantee a loan was a serious issue and that the Church would advise its hierarchy and members about the seriousness of the issue.
