Father Joe Walsh.
Camera IconFather Joe Walsh. Credit: Supplied/Anton La Macchia

Catholic priest charged with stealing $252,000 of church funds

Staff Writer/AAPWestern Suburbs Weekly

UPDATE: A Catholic priest charged with stealing from a Subiaco parish was not required to enter a plea when he appeared in Perth Magistrates Court this morning.

Fr Joe Walsh was granted bail until his next appearance on February 6.

Outside court, his lawyer Wayne Burg said Fr Walsh appreciated the support he had received from people in the community.

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A message posted on the All Saints Chapel website asks worshippers to “please keep Father Joe in your prayers”.

Fr Walsh led the Subiaco parish for many years before he was appointed to the All Saints Chapel in the Perth CBD,

EARLIER: A Catholic priest has been charged with stealing $252,000 in church funds.

Major Fraud Squad detectives charged 66-year-old Fr Joe Walsh, of Hamilton Hill, after an investigation.

Police allege that between 2014 and 2017 he stole $252,000 of church funds that he had access to while he was parish priest at a Subiaco church.

He has been charged with six counts of stealing and is due to appear before the Perth Magistrates Court today.