Posted on 02/15/2007 11:18:10 PM PST by Gamecock
When I signed the indictment for embezzlement against a Catholic priest at a local cathedral when I was forman of the Criminal Grand Jury, I told the District Attorney that I thought I could make a reasonable defense for the priest.
You see the Dogma of the Church is that its Priests are married to the Church... and California is a community property state!
Let the rationalizations begin!
My favorite is "The Protestants are evil for even bringing something like this up."
forman=foreman... oops.
There is no need for rationalisations, because the fact is that there are no organisations which are proof against financial pilfering. It happens all the time. Recently an Australian credit union had huge amounts stolen from accounts, by a trusted senior employee, a lady of good social standing ... who was a secret gambling addict.
At least they are mostly women for a change!
"Unlike monks, parish priests do not take a vow of poverty; but they promise to be celibate..."
That statement is COMPLETELY inaccurate! So how can we trust any of this article? Obviously he confused "religious" and "diocesan" priests, misunderstood the vows monks take with the fact they usually do not receive Holy Orders, no comprehension that "vow" of celibacy is not a promise not to have sex, virtue vs. vow, that parish priests can be non-diocesan, etc.
LOL, you sure got that right about community property. Very clever, you were able to educate the DA on Church Doctrine and get off jury duty in one stroke.
"Still, the increasing number of clergy getting caught with their hands in the offertory is once again prompting questions about the Catholic priesthood..."
This whole article seems to be whitewashed Catholic-bashing. What "increasing number"? The article lists four priests. What is this about "low moral credibility"? The abuse scandal was almost all cases from the 70's and 80's and less than 4% of priests. A much smaller number than DOCTORS and TEACHERS who molest their charges. People did not leave the Faith in droves because of a tiny number of miscreants.
You misunderstand, I signed the indictment, the written accusation of the crime. It was my duty the foreman of the Grand Jury that sent him to trial for embezzlement. I spent one year as foreman of the San Joaquin County Criminal Grand Jury and signed numerous indictments. During that year, I sat in the Judges bench, with a gavel, in a courtroom as DAs brought cases before 27 citizens they didn't want to go to Preliminary Hearings.
What's a few dollars between friends?
How in the world did these parishoners not notice all these purchases and notice a lack of funds?
My guess is that they didn't want to run programs in the first place. Otherwise, they would have wondered where all the cash was going to.
I am not joking.
Fortunately, I am member of St. Thomas More Parish in Boynton Beach (close to Delray Beach) and our Pastor is trustworthy and has excellent "transparent" financial practices.
Last weekend, our Parish generated over $17,000 in collections and I am confident not a penny was stolen or diverted into somebody's pocket.
As for the priest claiming he wasn't properly paid, that is a risible attempt at justification so absurd that only he could have made it :)
You know what?
I have been waiting for years to hear a Catholic admit that not all is perfect in Rome. We of the Reformed Confessions openly admit to any one who will listen that we are all rotten, it is very refreshing to hear such come from a RC.
< hats off>
Also, they hired 15 extra hands to run things - there is no free labor anymore.
Around that time I was interim pastor of a congregation and I tried to establish the normal safeguards, and was resisted strongly by the vestry. The members considered the guidelines to be insulting!
To me this is just another "proof" of the divine call of the Catholic Church: without divine protection no institution run so badly would have survived as long as the Church has. What a bunch of bozos we are!
Once, After I became a Catholic (obviously) I was part of the team counting the haul at our small country church. There was a procedure with rotating counters who had to fill out a form and sign it and all. My partner for that Sunday announced that she had experience in book-keeping and was certainly not going to fill out this silly form. I finished the count, went to the bulleting board and took my name off the counting roster.
**was certainly not going to fill out this silly form.**
Sounds like pride to me....
***I finished the count, went to the bulleting board and took my name off the counting roster.***
Good call.
I was once a deacon at a large church and we had three people counting and signing off on the offerings. We also signed off on the bank statements when they came in indicating that we agreed with how much was deposited. We had a copy on file of the deposit slip and compared it with the statements.
Children aren't the only losers when the expectation is that both husband and wife will work outside the home.
I have no issue with you posting this thread,but it does seem to me you're looking for a fight by the tone of your follow ups.
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