"I maintain my innocence," Bollinger said of the diocesan investigation. "And I want this nightmare to end."

And at St. Paul's, where Bollinger has been temporarily banned, membership is dwindling while the rector is unable to celebrate the Eucharist and the bishop fails to resolve the issue, parish leaders said.

Most parishioners and its vestry -- the leadership chosen democratically from parishioners -- back Bollinger in the dispute and are unhappy with the way they say Adams handled the investigation into Bollinger's discretionary accounts.

"We are very much in support of our priest," said Patty Ellis, one of two parish wardens representing the 10 members of the parish's vestry, which handles parish finances and acts in the absence of the rector. She declined further comment, citing legal issues.

But in a Sept. 8 letter to Adams, the vestry, including Ellis, said parish membership and morale was strained by the rift. Regular Sunday attendance numbered about 125 before Bollinger was removed as rector on May 31. Now the number has fallen to about 70, the letter states: "This inhibition (Bollinger's temporary removal) is having a highly detrimental effect on the morale and finances of our parish and we need you to know this." The parish is paying a supply priest to conduct services on Sundays.

Adams, who oversees about 22,107 Episcopalians in central New York, said he and other diocesan leaders are awaiting an investigation conducted by a private attorney they hired to look into church finances before any decision is made about Bollinger's future. "My hope in the whole thing is that by being diligent, that we'll find out what the truth is and respond to that," he said.

The wait has been devastating to Bollinger, who continues to receive his salary from St. Paul's, he said. One of his three daughters is suffering from thyroid cancer, and the stress of the accusations against him has taken a toll on his heath, Bollinger said. Bollinger's wife, Kelly, is a former mayor of the Village of Owego.

Bollinger said the trouble began when a former parishioner came forward in 2002 making allegations of sexual abuse against another rector no longer in New York state. Bollinger said he reported the abuse to the bishop, but that no action was taken. Bollinger pushed unsuccessfully for an investigation, he said.

Adams said that the alleged victim never came forward to meet a diocesan response team that investigates such allegations, nor was the committee provided with a name -- a process that's a requirement for an investigation. The committee was created since 2002 in the wake of priestly misconduct in the Roman Catholic Church, Adams said.

Bollinger claims that the diocese, in retaliation for his complaints that the bishop refused to pursue the abuse allegation, began improperly prying into his personal finances -- a claim Adams denies. The investigations are into accounts handled by Bollinger. The diocese conducted an audit that has not been made public.

Financial matters in Episcopal parishes are handled not by the rector, but by the wardens and vestry. The leadership at St. Paul's has been hurt and angered by the accusations of financial wrongdoing because they believe the accusations reflect on their own conduct. They say in the September letter to Adams that they can prove Adams' allegations to be without merit, but that Adams has refused to meet with them.

Bollinger's removal from the parish as rector was recently extended for a third 90-day term.

Under Episcopal policy, Adams could restore Bollinger to the parish or he could have him defrocked.

END