Tom Gallagher's blog

El Salvadoran accused in priest slayings indicted on perjury charges

From the Boston Herald:

A former El Salvadoran government minister accused of colluding with other officials in the murder of six Jesuit priests now faces up to 40 years in prison after a grand jury indicted him on perjury charges, authorities said.

Inocente Orlando Montano of Everett tried to hide his military experience from immigration officials and lied about when he entered the United States, the U.S. Attorney’s office said in announcing indictments against the 69-year-old Salvadoran.

More financial shenanigans by another Connecticut priest?

Here in Connecticut we've had more than our fair share of embezzlement/theft/larceny by Catholic priests.

Today, NBC News is reporting that the Connecticut state police have opened up an investigation of a priest in the Diocese of Norwich.

According to NBC News:

"State police said they launched an investigation into St. Bridget Church in Moodus in December.
That's the same month in which Father Gregoire Fluet took a voluntary leave of absence, according to Michael Strammiello, the spokesman for the Diocese of Norwich.
The investigation pertains to the church's finances and was launched after a single parishioner raised questions, Strammiello said."

We'll have to see what happens here as the investigation continues.

Does this New York diocese have too much cash on hand?

Richard Grafer, a financial expert at Pathway Investments, LLC, in Port Washington (Long Island), N.Y., has long held the view that the Diocese of Rockville Center saves too much cash for the proverbial "rainy day." In other words, the diocese should be using these funds today -- now -- in furtherance of the church's mission in this part of the world, not holding it back in its coffers.

Grafer's analysis is thorough and quite specific. Grafer distributed the following analysis and report Wednesday, and he concludes that diocese has $82 million to $103 million in excess -- that's right, in excess -- of industry standards.

From Richard Grafer:

Connecticut priest pleads guilty to obstruction

From the Connecticut Post:

Former Rev. Michael Moynihan, a pastor who resigned from a Greenwich church in 2007 amid allegations that he diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars in church funds to pay for personal expenses, pleaded guilty Thursday to federal obstruction of justice.

Moynihan entered the plea in federal court in New Haven, admitting he lied to federal investigators looking into the alleged fraud. When he is sentenced, Moynihan faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Formerly the pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Roman Catholic Church, Moynihan diverted parish funds toward paying his credit card bills and other personal reimbursements and may have engaged in forgery and other forms of deception, according to findings of an investigation made public in 2008.

Priest sorry for disclosing names of former Austrian Catholics

As if on cue, a Belgian priest working in Austria has come out apologizing for publicly sharing the names of Catholics who have resigned from the church.

His apology sounds lame. The priest had to have known that at a minimum, there was a high risk of embarrassing the named individuals and their families. The priest claims he was trying to emphasize to the congregation that they need to focus on building up the parish. He could have done that by de-identifying the names, by talking in real numbers and in trends and so on. Naming names was bush-league, and he looks to be facing legal problems as a result.

According to the Austrian Times:

Father Nicolaas Janssens, 51, Originally from Belgium who then trained in Aachen in Germany before starting work as a parish priest in Austria has now said that he is sorry for the row that he caused.

Austrian priest publishes names of former Catholics

Here's a new form of evangelization: Publish the names of all the Catholics who have formally left the church.

A pastor in an Austrian church did exactly that. What was he thinking?

The Vienna archdiocese immediately apologized. According to ABC News, "a statement says those affected have been asked 'for forgiveness,' noting making the names public 'is not allowed by state or church rules.' Those who formally renounce their membership in the Austrian Catholic church are freed from paying the mandatory church tax."

New York Giants matriarch injured in fall while in church

From ESPN:

Ann Mara will not be challenging Terry Bradshaw to a fistfight, at least not before Super Bowl XLVI.

The grand matriarch of the New York Giants, who became an Internet sensation for confronting the Fox broadcaster during the Giants' victory ceremony Sunday night, broke her shoulder in a fall after returning from San Francisco.

"It is true," her son, John, wrote in an email. "She went right to church after we arrived home Monday am and fell on the way back from communion. Broke her shoulder. She is 'probable' for SB."

Ann Mara, 82, poked a finger at Bradshaw and called for his attention as he attempted to interviewVictor Cruz following the Giants' 20-17 NFC Championship Game victory over the San Francisco 49ers. As her son John tried to persuade her to leave Bradshaw alone, Mara persisted and barked, "Hey, you never pick the Giants!"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry," said the former four-time Super Bowl champion quarterback of thePittsburgh Steelers. "I'm getting hammered for not picking the Giants."

Syracuse diocese priest pleads guilty to larceny

According to WKTV-Utica, an NBC affiliate:

Father Valentine Krul pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree grand larceny, facing five years probation with the first six months spent in the Oneida County Jail.

Father Val, as he was known by many in the community, was actually the chaplain for the Oneida County Sheriff's Department for more than 20 years. A priest for 34 years, he had been assigned to St. Mary's Church in New York Mills for the past 17 years.

In court on Wednesday, Krul said he had completed rehabilitation for stress, anxiety and alcohol in July 2011. He said that between October 2008 and January 2011, he took money from three church bank accounts at First Source Federal Credit Union, accounts made up of money from the parish, some of which included people's bequests, wills, and donations to the church.

Krul said that at one point he made a withdrawal of $46,720.91 for a condominium in Florida for himself.

Priests for Life leader 'not in prison,' continues to raise money

Amarillo Bishop Pat Zurek broke his silence to Karen Smith Welch, the Amarillo Globe-News reporter who has been ably covering the dysfunctional relationship between Zurek and one of his priests, Fr. Frank Pavone. Pavone is the national director/president/chairperson of no fewer than three anti-abortion charities: Priests for Life, Inc.; Gospel of Life Ministries Inc.; and Rachel's Vineyard Ministries.

According to the Amarillo Globe-News:

A Roman Catholic priest restricted to ministry within the Diocese of Amarillo participated in March for Life events Monday in Washington with the permission of his bishop.

The Rev. Frank Pavone had a full calendar during Monday's annual pro-life gathering marking the anniversary of the Supreme Court's landmark Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion.

Virginia priest pleads guilty to embezzlement

According to the Virginian-Pilot newspaper:

A former priest of two Vietnamese Catholic churches pleaded guilty Thursday to embezzling $84,450 from the diocese.

Joseph Quoc Hai-Nguyen admitted to taking the money from the Catholic Diocese of Richmond between 2003 and 2008. Hai-Nguyen, 66, led Our Lady of La Vang in Norfolk and Our Lady of Vietnam in Hampton, court records state.

During a court appearance, Hai-Nguyen gave the diocese a cashier's check for the full amount of the loss. He was convicted of four counts of felony embezzlement and received a suspended sentence. He will not serve time in prison as long as meets the terms of his probation.
Hai-Nguyen entered an Alford plea, not admitting guilt but acknowledging the commonwealth had enough evidence to convict him at trial. He returned from Texas, where he retired, to face the charges, court records state.

Hai-Nguyen's attorney, Robert Morecock, said his client had remorse. "He wishes he had been more careful with booking matters," Morecock said. Hai-Nguyen had no prior criminal record, he said.

Best-paid pastors in the United States

Catholic bishops and priests do not make a lot in terms of annual compensation in their respective roles. On the other hand, permanent housing, food, pension benefits and health care coverage ain't too bad a deal, all things considered. I know of one bishop who likes to boast to his priests that he takes "no salary" (which is both funny and delusional, given the large estate on which he lives, an entertainment budget, a car and driver and numerous benefits he receives).

In the Protestant world, there are some pastors whose total compensation would make even some on Wall Street blush. Over at Huffington Post is a story on pastor compensation.

An excerpt:

From church closings and foreclosures of houses of worship across the nation to the limited number of clergy jobs for new rabbis, imams and pastors, the recession has hit religious Americans just as it has affected the tens of millions of the country's jobless.

Private home of Innocenzo X for sale

While paging through the glossy Christie's Real Estate magazine this weekend, I came across the unusual headline announcing the sale of the "Private Home of Pope Innocenzo X."

The property description goes like this:

"This magnificent property in Piazza Navona displays original Renaissance frescoes and decorations that are considered artistic masterpieces. Commissioned by Pope Innocenzo X in 1645, the 400-square-meter, or around 4,305-square-foot, home has vaulted ceilings and a balcony viewing the piazza and Bernini's Fountain of Four Rivers. This is a unique opportunity to live amid historical ambiance."

No doubt. The cost to live in such ambiance: "Price upon request."

For more on this property, including 28 pictures, see Christie's website.

Priest sentenced to three years for theft from his Las Vegas parish

According to the Associated Press:

A Roman Catholic priest was sentenced Friday to three years and one month in federal prison and ordered to repay $650,000 he acknowledged siphoning from his northwest Las Vegas parish to support his gambling habit.

Muffled sobs erupted from a courtroom packed with supporters, but Monsignor Kevin McAuliffe, 59, stood straight and made no reaction as U.S. District Court Judge James Mahan faulted him for accepting responsibility but "hedging his bet" by blaming the theft on a gambling addiction.

"You abused a position of trust, Mr. McAuliffe, the judge said, dispensing with any church title for the priest who many in the parish referred to as Father Kevin while he hid a weakness for casinos and video poker. "You betrayed people who depended on you."

Does God care who wins football games?

The great NFL quarterback Fran Tarkenton, who played from 1961 to 1978, has an opinion piece in today's Wall Street Journal describing his futile attempt to get God's intervention in three Super Bowl games. Tarkenton places the current excitement around Denver Broncos quarterback, Tim Tebow, an outspoken evangelical man-of-God, into perspective.

Court: Oklahoma ban on Islamic law unconstitutional

In a decision that should be hailed by the U.S. bishops' Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty, a federal appeals court upheld a U.S. district court's decision allowing the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Oklahoma to sue to prevent a xenophobic state law from implementation.

Time will tell if the U.S. bishops are serious about religious liberty by the way in which they come to the defense of Muslims, whose religious liberty appears most threatened in the United States.

From The Associated Press:

An amendment that would ban Oklahoma courts from considering international or Islamic law discriminates against religions and a Muslim community leader has the right to challenge its constitutionality, a federal appeals court said Tuesday.

The court in Denver upheld U.S. District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange's order blocking implementation of the amendment shortly after it was approved by 70 percent of Oklahoma voters in November 2010.

Robert Kennedy's grandson considers a run for Congress

With longtime liberal U.S. Rep. Barney Frank from Massachusetts retiring from Congress this year, the Wall Street Journal reports:

Joe Kennedy III, grandson of Robert F. Kennedy and son of former Rep. Joe Kennedy II, announced Thursday he's resigning his job in a state prosecutor's office and exploring a run for Congress.

My decision to look seriously at elected office is grounded in a deep commitment to public service and my experience -- both my own and that of my family -- in finding just, practical, and bipartisan solutions to difficult challenges," Mr. Kennedy said in a statement.

Mr. Kennedy, 31 years old, would run for the seat being vacated by Rep. Barney Frank (D., Mass.), who announced recently he won't seek re-election after his seat was redistricted.

Beyond being part of a storied political family, Mr. Kennedy's background is a classic for an aspiring politician: He attended Harvard Law School and served in the Peace Corps before becoming a prosecutor.

Pennsylvania diocese loses appeal, to pay health provider $264,000

Back in October, I blogged that the Allentown, Pa., diocese lost its appeal in paying a health care provider for services provided to one of its priests, Fr. James Mulligan, who slipped, fell and injured himself.

The diocese lost its appeal for re-argument and will be required to pay about $264,000 to the Lehigh Valley Health Network:

In a slip-and-fall case involving a 72-year-old diocesan priest, Fr. James Mulligan, the Allentown, Pa., diocese, which self-insures for workers' compensation, claimed it was not responsible for 100 percent of the bills charged by the Lehigh Valley Health Network for acute care provided to Fr. James Mulligan for immediately life-threatening or urgent injuries at the Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest.

The total cost of in-patient care was $406,338.79. The diocese paid only $142,196, short-changing Lehigh Valley Health Network more than $260,000.

Can anything good come out of Montana?

Well, according to the Great Falls Tribune, a "local boy done good" is coming home to celebrate Christmas Masses in his hometown of tiny Hobson, Mont.:

"This Christmas season, the parishioners of Hobson's Sacred Heart Catholic Church will enjoy a special gift -- one rarely available to people living in small rural communities. A visiting priest will assist with the Christmas Masses, one whose resume includes art studies in Florence, Italy, an internship in the U.S. Senate; who has studied Elizabethan culture at Oxford University; and who who is currently working to complete his doctorate in Theology at Cambridge University in England.

Cartoonist draws ire of New Jersey Irish

Some of Thomas Nast's cartoons, such as this 1871 drawing, have stirred opposition to plans to honor him in New Jersey. (Harper's Weekly)Some of Thomas Nast's cartoons, such as this 1871 drawing, have stirred opposition to plans to honor him in New Jersey. (Harper's Weekly)From the Wall Street Journal:

Thomas Nast, whose antislavery political cartoons propelled him to notoriety in the 19th century, has ignited another uproar: whether his anti-Irish and -Catholic drawings should disqualify him from the New Jersey Hall of Fame.

Irish and Catholic groups are waging a campaign against including the father of the American political cartoon in that group of notable New Jerseyans, arguing that he routinely depicted them in an unfavorable light.

"He portrayed the Irish as drunken apes, and the image still remains today. We have a lot to offer beyond that," said Sean Pender, president of the New Jersey Ancient Order of Hibernians, a fraternal group with 2,500 members that is campaigning against Nast's nomination. The Knights of Columbus in New Jersey has also joined the cause.

Bill Donohue's December fundraising letter

Bill Donohue, the one-man show at the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, recently sent out his year-end fundraising letter. Donohue focuses his letter on people and organizations who "want to take down the Catholic church."

According to Donohue: "Almost alone, we brought attention to the evidence -- ignored by the John Jay professors -- that homosexuality was involved in almost all abuse cases. Not to report this was sheer dishonesty, and we refused to play the game" (emphasis included).

He goes on to boast of a "grand slam" by showing "beyond a shadow of a doubt" that the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) is a "well-organized anti-Catholic front group."

Donohue trumpets a surprise press conference he held in front of the "Catholic-hating Kansas City Star newspaper." This was done to "strike back against all the familiar players out to get Bishop Robert Finn," who was indicted by a local prosecutor for failing to report a priest to the police after Bishop Finn had plenty of notice.

Of course, Donohue claims that the Obama administration, among others, is threatening religious liberty.

From the mouths of babes

The few weeks before Christmas generate more dinners with good friends than any of the prior months.

On Friday evening, my wife and I dined with two other couples for our annual holiday dinner. We had a wonderful time. I asked our friend Carol if her 6-year-old daughter, Fiona, has generated any hysterical one-liners, which she regularly does.

Carol shared this story:

So Fiona and I are walking on the street in our neighborhood when a car comes flying around the corner.

In a panic, I grab Fiona's hand and pull her back and away from the oncoming car and blurt out, "Jesus!"

"MOM!" Fiona immediately responds.

I brace for the inevitable child-correcting-the-parent moment when Fiona says, "How did you know it was Him?"

'Arab winter' chills Christians

The Wall Street Journal reports on the plight of Christians in the Middle East:

At least 54 Iraqi churches have been bombed and at least 905 Christians killed in various acts of violence since the U.S. invasion toppled Hussein in 2003, according to Archbishop Louis Sako of the Chaldean Catholic Church in the northern provinces of Kirkuk and Sulimaniya. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Christians have fled. A report on Iraq released Tuesday by Minority Rights Group International said that about 500,000 Christians remain in Iraq, down from an estimated 800,000 to 1.4 million in 2003.

"It's a hemorrhage," Archbishop Sako says. "Iraq could be emptied of Christians."

Is the new missal good prayer?

The anecdotal reactions to the new English-language prayers officially implemented Sunday break down into predictable categories. Those who dislike the changes describe them as simply bad and unreadable English, inhibitors to authentic prayer. Those in favor of the changes commonly use the term "poetic" in praising the new prayers. The quiet middle seems philosophical about accepting the new missal. Most appreciated the efforts by local parishes to prepare the congregations for the change-over.

Here are some reactions I collected Sunday.

At the Mass I attended, one octogenarian woman kept leaning over to the 40-something woman next to her and saying, "This is stupid. This is stupid. I'm never going to learn these changes," she said. After Mass, the older woman kept bemoaning the changes as she left the building.

A new song for the Arab Spring

A new flower blossoms in the Arab Spring and involves the legendary music producer, Quincy Jones, who has collaborated with Emirati social entrepreneur Badr Jafar, to jointly produce the Arabic charity single entitled "TOMORROW/BOKRA." The song involves 24 leading Arab artists from 16 nations across the Middle East and North Africa singing with one voice for a better tomorrow.

CNN, the global media partner to this initiative, offered this report:

"A charity single made by legendary music producer Quincy Jones featuring some of the Arab world's top recording artists has become an internet hit. The official video for "Tomorrow/Bokra," (Bokra is the Arabic word for tomorrow) has been watched more than two million times on YouTube since it was released earlier this month. The album released last week. "People gave their soul to this project," said Jones. "This is not about records and money. This is about the young kids."

The proceeds will go to fund musical, artistic and cultural projects for children in the Middle East.

Should philanthropies operate like businesses?

One of the main goals of NCR's Mission Management column created by our dear friend Joe Feuerherd, publisher and editor-in-chief of the National Catholic Reporter from 2008 until his death earlier this year, is to highlight best practices and ideas that, when well-executed, change peoples' lives. Since 2009, as the lead writer for this column and with the considerable help of NCR colleagues, friends and readers, I have been able to scour the country and identify good examples of mission management in action.

One of the perennial tension points in the not-for-profit space continues to be the issue of how much a charity, including parishes and dioceses, should be run like a business and whether a business model is, in fact, an applicable model for charities. Much has been written on this topic by academics, philanthropists, business executives and charity managers.

Religious liberty blossoms at the U.S. Air Force Academy

The newly minted and urgently created U.S. Bishops Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty will be tickled to learn that the U.S. Air Force Academy is officially making room for pagans, druids, witches and Wiccans, according to a story in the Los Angeles Times:

"We're here to accommodate all religions, period," [says Chaplain Maj. Darren] Duncan, branch chief of cadet faith communities at the academy. The building of the Cadet Chapel Falcon Circle on the hilltop, he says, is no different from the past conversion of chapel rooms into worship spaces that serve this year's 11 Muslim, 16 Buddhist and 10 Hindu cadets. There are also 43 self-identified atheist cadets whose beliefs, or lack of them, Duncan says are also to be respected.

"It is very nice to have our own space," says Cadet 1st Class Nicole Johnson, a 21-year-old senior from Florida who became a pagan after entering the academy.

Alabama: The price of intolerance

Today's New York Times editorial captures the high price of Alabama's radical new immigration law. For those championing the move to airlift more than 11 million undocumented immigrants back to their birth countries or those trying to concoct a dastardly law like Alabama's, they ought to pay close attention to the true cost of such ideas.

Back in 2004, President George Bush proposed comprehensive immigration reform:

"Saying the United States needs an immigration system 'that serves the American economy and reflects the American dream,' President Bush Wednesday outlined an plan to revamp the nation's immigration laws and allow some eight million illegal immigrants to obtain legal status as temporary workers.

The New Yorker Thanksgiving cover takes on immigration

The Huffington Post has a compelling story on the New Yorker's Thanksgiving cover story:

"No stranger to controversial cover art, The New Yorker Thanksgiving issue depicts a gaggle of pilgrims scampering under a starry sky.

"A woman crawls under a barbed-wire fence that could be the U.S.-Mexico border. Two men, sweat dripping from their hats, sprint across the barren landscape.

"The illustration is entitled 'Promised Land.'

"'American politics tend to be very practical and open-minded, so why would you consider throwing them out?' Cover artist Christoph Niemann told Huffington Post LatinoVoices. 'The debate should be about how can a country benefit from immigration. America depends on immigration. The discussion will be more valuable if it is focused on benefits.'"

DePaul University receives $10 million pledge

From the university's press release:

DePaul University has something special to be thankful for this Thanksgiving—the generosity of an alumnus and his wife who have pledged $10 million from their estate to the university.

The largest single gift in the institution’s 113-year history will support student scholarships and a professorship at DePaul’s College of Commerce. The donors, a retired graduate of the college and his wife, wish to remain anonymous.

"This landmark gift is notable not just in its magnitude but in the profound impact it will have on the College of Commerce and the students who come through its doors seeking opportunity and excellence," said the Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M., president of DePaul. "This gift is going to change the lives of countless students and help DePaul meet our commitment to recruiting the very best faculty to teach them. We could not be more grateful to this generous couple for what they are doing for the many generations that follow them."

A serving of gratitude may save the day

New York Times columnist John Tierney writes today on the life-changing effects of gratitude. It's a good read.

"The most psychologically correct holiday of the year is upon us.

"Cultivating an 'attitude of gratitude' has been linked to better health, sounder sleep, less anxiety and depression, higher long-term satisfaction with life and kinder behavior toward others, including romantic partners. A new study shows that feeling grateful makes people less likely to turn aggressive when provoked, which helps explain why so many brothers-in-law survive Thanksgiving without serious injury."

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