
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, April 30, 1990                   TAG: 9004300063
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

PRIEST ACCUSED OF PUTTING LOVER ON PAYROLL

A priest who broke from the Roman Catholic Church last year to form an independent African-American church had a two-year homosexual relationship with a man whom he put on the payroll of his former church, according to a published report.

There is also some question as to whether the Rev. George Stallings used funds from the collection plate to finance the renovation of his home, according to Sunday's editions of The Washington Post.

Stallings refused comment when asked about the newspaper report after services Sunday at his Imani Temple African-American Catholic Congregation.

"No matter what we are going through, we need not forget that Jesus is in our midst and we are never alone," he told the congregation.

"The holy wars have begun," Bill Marshall, a spokesman for Stalling, said later. Marshall said the congregation was "very supportive."

Last summer, Stallings charged the Roman Catholic Church with being racist and formed the Imani Temple African-American Catholic Congregation. But he left behind questions as to what caused the breakdown in the relationship with his former church.

According to the newspaper, Stallings' bond with Cardinal James A. Hickey, the archbishop of Washington, began to disintegrate in 1985 when it was determined that Stallings bought a house to live in.

by CNB