As we were saying the other day, the Catholic Church has run a lot of Americans out of the pews, because of the incomprehensible acts of child abuse by predator priests. Many Americans have joined other churches and religions. They have needed a lot of money to pay for lawyers and settlements regarding this. It could explain their illegitimate reason why they are interfering in U.S. governmental affairs in pushing for Amnesty. They need to fill those pews back up. They want the money.

Well, looks like they're going to need to pay for some more lawyers !! Are we, as Americans going to allow the Catholic Church to dictate the law to the American people.....I don't think so !!

Please note: I am not attacking all Catholics, I am Catholic myself. But throughout history, Catholics have often followed the Catholic Church and the Priests blindly. God wants us to be good people and good Catholics, but he expects us to turn away from wrong-doing no matter where it happens. He wants people to respect each other, and it starts by respecting the laws of each other's countries.

Please do not buy into this latest Catholic attempt to scam not only Catholics, but all of the American people. The Catholic Church will keep telling the American people how we will run our country until WE put our foot down and say "No".

Police: Two Delray priests spent stolen $8.6 million on girlfriends, gambling, property


Pair accused of leading secret lives using money taken from collection plates

By Jerome Burdi and Mike Clary
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted September 29 2006


Delray Beach -- In a bold scheme carried out over decades, two respected priests are accused of stealing more than $8.6 million in cash from the collection plates at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church to bankroll lavish secret lives that included steady girlfriends, investments in property in Florida and Ireland and gambling junkets to casinos in Las Vegas and the Bahamas.

Arrested on a grand-theft charge was retired Monsignor John A. Skehan, 79, who was pastor at St. Vincent for more than 40 years. He was picked up at Palm Beach International Airport on Wednesday night after returning from Ireland.

"He was very remorseful," Delray Beach Detective Thomas Whatley said. Skehan was in the Palm Beach County jail Thursday in lieu of $400,000 bond.

His successor at the Delray Beach church, the Rev. Francis B. Guinan, is being sought on a similar grand-theft charge. Police said Thursday that they suspected Guinan, 63, may have fled the country.

With about 3,000 parishioners, St. Vincent is one of the area's largest and oldest parishes, and is home to a who's who of powerful politicians and business leaders. "I am shocked," said Palm Beach County Commissioner Mary McCarty, whose husband, Kevin, is chairman of the South Florida Water Management District. "[Skehan] married us 26 years ago."

As parishioners gathered for 5 p.m. Mass on Thursday at St. Vincent, many expressed disbelief. "Skehan was the epitome of priesthood," said June Hefti, tears welling in her eyes. "It is incredible."

In a probable-cause affidavit issued by Delray Beach police, Skehan and Guinan are accused of skimming cash from weekly church collections to feed a series of "slush funds" that allowed them to give generous payments to women, invest in real estate and travel to their native Ireland and U.S. resort destinations.

Skehan, police allege, used collection-plate funds donated to the church on George Bush Boulevard to pay for a Palm Beach County condominium, a $275,000 coin collection, a cottage on Ireland's scenic Cliffs of Moher and a pub in his hometown of Kilkenny.

He made regular cash payments to a woman, described in the affidavit as a "girlfriend," who once worked for him when he was assigned to a church in Hallandale Beach.

During the summers when other priests were away, one former church employee told police, Skehan "would hide cash from offertories in the ceiling" of his condo, a 16th-floor unit in the oceanfront Connemara on Singer Island.

Guinan, who was a pastor at St. Patrick's Church in Palm Beach Gardens before succeeding Skehan at St. Vincent in September 2003, was described in the affidavit as a gambler who frequented casinos in Las Vegas and the Bahamas.

He used church funds to pay for $15,000 worth of dental work, and made cash payments to his "girlfriend," a former St. Patrick's bookkeeper, according to the affidavit. He wrote checks totaling $7,270 to pay tuition for his girlfriend's son at Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach.

Known for his lavish lifestyle, Guinan also has a reputation as a partier, church employees and parishioners told investigators. In 2004 he was charged with driving under the influence, records show.

Public records show he owns several properties, including a home in Port St. Lucie and a Juno Beach condo.

The charges of grand theft lodged against the two priests are the latest in a series of scandals that have shaken the Palm Beach Diocese over the past few years, the most serious of which involved allegations of sexual abuse that led to the resignations of two bishops.

In a news conference Thursday, Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito -- named to the post in 2003 with a mandate to bring calm to the diocese -- said the charges against Skehan and Guinan "give rise to grave concern and possible feelings of betrayal and anger."

The diocese, which includes Palm Beach and four other counties to the north, is home to more than 250,000 Catholics.

He said both men had been placed on administrative leave and suspended from priestly duties.

Attorney Ken Johnson, representing Skehan, told The Associated Press that police had exaggerated the alleged theft. "My reading of the probable-cause affidavit indicates that the amount of money he's actually accused of misappropriating amounts to about $325,000, which is a far cry from $8.6 million," he said.

The investigation into the church finances dates to September 2003, when Skehan retired and Guinan was named to replace him. According to diocesan financial administrator Denis Hamel, Guinan, along with a St. Vincent bookkeeper identified as the priest's girlfriend, tried to block a routine audit done to coincide with the change in leadership.

Both priests, Irish-born and friends for about 30 years, are accused of directing staffers to make bank deposits in amounts of less than $10,000 to avoid notice and detection. Former bookkeepers described to police a scheme in which the priests often set up new bank accounts or wrote checks for non-existent construction projections to cover up their thefts.

Although Skehan retired as pastor of St. Vincent three years ago, he continued to have access to church accounts until January, police said.

Guinan resigned as pastor at St. Vincent in September 2005 as the diocese was trying to remove him, according to diocese spokeswoman Alexis Walkenstein. "Our internal investigation merged with the criminal investigation," she said. "We were on top of this in advance of the criminal investigation. We were conducting a careful, serious probe."

Jerome Burdi can be reached at jjburdi@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6531. Mike Clary can be reached at mwclary@sun-sentinel or at 561-243-6629.

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