[ClaudiusI]

I thought they got sent to Craggy Island.

[Vaduz]

He must be a progressive OWS.

[Loyal Sedition]

Mr. Torquemada, please report to work immediately.

“Thou shalt not steal”, prison should be nothing for him, according to his own professed belief his real punishment will be eternal.

Oh right, a contrite last minute “confession” wipes the slate clean, how convenient! /S

[Jim Scott]

But the judge was more heavily swayed by prosecutors, who focused on the length and depth of McAuliffe's deception. He falsified parish financial reports and shuffled money among accounts to cover his theft, court papers said.

McAuliffe never sought treatment for his betting problem, prosecutors said, though he could have through the church or private counselors. He also left his own savings untouched as he burned through the church's money.

I don't care what the religion is, church 'leaders' that steal from the money church members give to the church in the reasonable assumption that it will be used for church-related purposes deserve no excuses or special treatment. This Monsignor stole well over a half-million dollars from his church so he could gamble it away. Sorry, but I'm not sympathetic to his lawyer's claims of rehabilitation and so on. They all say that when they're caught. He got off relatively easy.

[Palladin]

Nice. A Poster Boy for Bad Priests.

Glad we are rid of him!

[cherry]

finally!....back to traditional Catholic sins like gambling....

give me an old school priest anyday of the week.....

[boatbums]

You'd have to wonder why, after he lost the first 100k, it didn't occur to him that he didn't have any luck and that God sure wasn't about to help him out. But to keep on stealing and keep on gambling....it does certainly sound like an addiction. Most compulsive gamblers always think, "Just one more bet and I'll win it all back. Just one more bet."

The trouble is when churches encourage gambling with Bingo games and sponsored group trips to casinos. You have to ask if perhaps this wasn't in come way encouraged by the church "winking" at gambling and not providing the proper supervision all those years.