The former rector of the Church of the Holy Faith engaged in "gross sexual and financial misbehavior as a clergyman in charge of the parish," according to a document submitted in response to a breach-of-contract suit filed by the Episcopal priest in August.

The Rev. Dale Coleman is suing the church for violating a severance agreement signed in May 2007 as he was leaving the parish after 11 years.

The Palace Avenue congregation had agreed to pay Coleman $115,000 in a dozen monthly installments beginning in June 2007. The money was to be divided between Coleman and his former wife, with Coleman to receive $50,002 and Susan Coleman, $64,998.

The church halted the payments with four of them remaining, informing Coleman that the severance agreement did not have "any legal effect" because of "serious misrepresentations and omissions."

Those misrepresentations and omissions were spelled out in the church's response to the claim filed Monday.

According to the document, after the severance agreement was signed, the church's parish administrator, Deacon Joan Garcia, divorced her husband of 25 years, resigned from Holy Faith and moved to the town in Illinois where Coleman was living.

Coleman had divorced his wife of 29 years prior to his resignation. He moved to Belleville, Ill., to become rector at St. George's Episcopal Church.

The church alleges he took a desktop computer belonging to Holy Faith with him, which contains e-mail exchanged by the couple.

Examination of church financial records disclosed that Coleman had often charged $1,000 a month for lunches to Holy Faith's American Express credit card, according to the document. In many of those instances, Coleman treated Garcia to lunch. In 2006, the document states, he spent $17,000 on food and beverages for which he did not reimburse Holy Faith.

Among other allegations are that Coleman expensed flowers for Garcia and that he used the same credit card for personal medical prescriptions, vitamins, other medical expenses, books, personal trips, etc.

The document states that Holy Faith's vestry, an elected body that manages the church's affairs, also learned that Coleman had been subject to an "intervention" by the Bishop of the Diocese of the Rio Grande, the president of the Standing Committee, the consulting psychologist to the diocese and the retired bishop of Milwaukee, Bishop Roger White, among others. The church believes he made undisclosed promises to them that he failed to keep.

The Rev. Kenneth Semon, the current rector at Holy Faith, said he was disappointed to learn that the diocese did not follow up on the intervention. "Two bishops protected him, but it's not clear to me why," he said.

"I've heard he's a very charming person, very amusing in the pulpit and was a good teacher. That went a long way to keep people from finding out what went on," he added.

The court document also says Coleman hit up a parishioner for $60,000, claiming he could not pay his debts.

The parishioner, Tom Reed, former chairman and CEO of Vivigen Labs, was so disillusioned by subsequent events that he is no longer worshipping at Holy Faith, Semon said.

The church is seeking damages including money paid under the severance agreement as well as funds "misused" by Coleman.

Neither Coleman nor his attorney, Michael R. Jones, returned calls seeking comment.

Holy Faith, the oldest Episcopal Church in New Mexico, has counted among its parishioners prominent New Mexicans such as architect John Gaw Meem, U.S. Sens. Thomas Catron and Bronson Cutting, and Gov. L. Bradford Prince.

Semon said that while the congregation has been through "a lot of turmoil" in the last two years or so, "they're doing very well. Gradually the clergy and vestry are building credibility," but it's not without "losses (of members) and significant heartbreak."

Contact Anne Constable at 986-3022 or aconstable@sfnewmexican.com.