(LifeSiteNews) — The Jesuits of Canada have filed a civil lawsuit against their former Director of Finance, a layman, for allegedly embezzling over $6.5 million ($4.7 million U.S.).
In a June 2, 2025, submission to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto, the Jesuits of Canada allege that their former Director of Finance, Barry Leidl, and his wife, Nancy Leidl, misappropriated more than $6.5 million in organizational funds. The suit claims that the couple benefited from cash siphoned from the Jesuits that was meant to fund senior Jesuits and Jesuits in formation and, in special cases, provide funding for special projects, like funding high school students’ retreats or missionary programs.
A source who wishes to remain anonymous told LifeSiteNews that criminal charges have not yet been filed but “the Jesuits have committed to public legal proceedings as part of their effort to address the situation openly and transparently.”
“The Provincial is a methodological man,” stated another source known to LifeSiteNews, regarding Father Jeffrey Burwell, S.J., the recently appointed new superior of the Canadian branch of the Society of Jesus. “He does things one step at a time. Right now, the big issue is recovery of funds. Once we get beyond that, the Jesuits will take the next step. Nothing is off the table.”
The Jesuits of Canada have officially acknowledged filing the lawsuit.
“As the matter is before the courts, we must limit our remarks,” they told LifeSiteNews by email. “We can confirm the filing of the statement of claim to which you referred, and we are continuing to strengthen our internal controls and accounting practices.
“The operations of Jesuit works and communities have not been materially affected by the loss,” they continued.
“Our goal in filing the claim is to ensure financial and apostolic transparency as well as to recover the amount claimed.”
Barry Leidl was employed by the Jesuits for over 30 years. He retired in 2024 after holding several senior financial roles. As Director of Finance, he had privileged access to the Canadian Jesuits’ central accounts, including internal operating reserves, surplus revenues, and investment income. That there had been financial irregularities during his tenure was discovered during internal reviews in late 2024. LifeSiteNews was told that they were “serious” and “sustained,” and that the Provincial, Fr. Burwell, decided to take legal action after confronting Leidl in person.
Although Leidl worked in Toronto, he and his wife live in Guelph, Ontario, and were well-known members of a Jesuit-run parish there.
LifeSiteNews was told that this is a “deeply painful moment” for the Jesuit community, especially in Guelph, where the order has served since 1852 and where in 1913 they founded what eventually became the Ignatius Jesuit Centre.
In a 2021 article entitled “Laypeople and Jesuit: Together in the Mission of the Lord,” Leidl recalled how he first came to work for the religious order and praised them for giving work once entrusted only to fellow Jesuits to laymen like him:
I started working with the Jesuits because they needed an accountant temporarily and I had experience. So I went to an interview, and the director said, ‘We’d love to hire you, that would be great. But when we find a Jesuit who can do the job, you’ll have to leave.’ So there has been a big change since then. The Jesuits have realized that they need laypeople. Now I view the Jesuits as colleagues, and I don’t really notice who is a layperson or who is a Jesuit, except maybe when it matters, like when a priest presides at Mass. I think we’re in a good place right now. There is generally good dialogue and a spirit of openness, and it is important that people take ownership of the responsibilities that they have been given.
But the Jesuits, their lay collaborators, and those who rely on their programs, including the young and the poor, are not the only alleged victims. There are also the benefactors who expected their money to support Jesuit novices and elderly Jesuits in the René Goupil retirement home.
In 2021 Leidl described in an email to Toronto’s Catholic Register the “special relationship” he and the Jesuits had with monthly donors. “Even small amounts are very important in our fundraising efforts,” he said. “We consider monthly donors unique and important partners in our mission.”
Jesuits first came to Canada (then New France) in 1611, and their annual reports back to France about their lives and mission among First Nations people are a valuable resource for Canada historians. They have continued to minister to First Nations people and other Canadians into the 21st century. There are over 100 Canadian Jesuits today, their numbers augmented by over 60 Haitian Jesuits residing in the northern nation.
Although certain Jesuits—and even entire Jesuit Provinces—have gained notoriety for their heterodox views, the Jesuits of Canada have extended their pastoral approach even to traditionalists. Jesuits in Canada have been the pastors of TLM communities in Newfoundland, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. One source told LifeSiteNews that the Jesuits of Canada have always balanced their commitment to justice with fidelity to the Church.
LifeSiteNews has reached out to Barry Leidl and is awaiting his response to these allegations.
