christmas from the nuns. not quite a sister act

[Ken Gargett]

let me start by saying that some of the best people i know are devoutly religious. one very close mate for 40 years has never stopped working in villages in africa. this sort of thing must break their hearts, because it leads to utter contempt for the church and religion. 

so, we have two nuns rorting their congregation to nick $700k to go to vegas and gamble. 

i first read this and had the obligatory giggle but then i read the bit about them not being charged. why the hell not? you or i do this and it is time in the big house, which is exactly what we'd deserve. the church wonders why people are losing faith in it (no pun intended, well, perhaps a little one). these grubs are thieves. not robin hoods. they are no better than filthy thieves who should be jailed. 

it will be dealt with internally. seriously? how well has that policy been going for you? 

but what does it mean, in any event? they are retired. so, you won't invite them to old thieves day? 

they feel deep remorse at their actions. i do not believe a word of it. they feel remorse at being caught. otherwise, they might not have been stealing for a decade. once perhaps, but not ten years. 

but not to worry, the church will pay it back. where the hell does the church think this money comes from? in other words, the congregation will find the dosh it has forked out will now be given by one branch of the church to another (or perhaps they simply take a few grand back to vegas and whack it on red!). 

yet another nail in the terminal coffin of the church. 

 

Nuns accused of embezzling almost $700,000 from school for gambling

11 December 2018

 

 

Two nuns who worked for decades at a Catholic school in California embezzled a “substantial” amount of money from tuition and other funds and used it to pay for gambling trips to Las Vegas, church officials said on Monday.

The alleged embezzlement from Saint James Catholic School in Torrance appears to have gone on for as long as 10 years, Archdiocese of Los Angeles media relations director Adrian Alarcon said.

During that time Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper was the school’s principal and Sister Lana Chang taught eighth grade students. Both retired earlier this year. Neither has been charged with a crime.

The amount taken from tuition payments and other funds is still being tabulated, Mr Alarcon said, adding she couldn’t confirm some reports that it was as much as $695,000 (US$500,000).

View photos

Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper (left) and Sister Lana Chang allegedly embezzled as much as $695,000 in tuition, fees and donations. Images: Sisters of St Joseph of Carondelet

In a letter to parents, Monsignor Michael Meyers called it “substantial.”

“This matter came to our attention during financial reviews in connection with the change in leadership at our school,” he said, adding no one else was implicated.

Alarcon said it is routine to conduct such a review after a principal retires.

Neither nun could be immediately reached for comment.

Meyers said both nuns acknowledged the theft when confronted, apologised and are cooperating with an ongoing investigation. He said they and their order, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, have promised to pay back the money.

View photos

The embezzlement from Saint James Catholic School in Torrance appears to have gone on for as long as 10 years. Image: Google Maps

“Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana have expressed to me and asked that I convey to you, the deep remorse they each feel for their actions and ask for your forgiveness and prayers,” Meyers said in his letter.

“They and their order pray that you have not lost trust or faith in the educators and administrators of the school.”

The archdiocese has notified police, but Meyers said church officials don’t plan to press charges at this point and instead want to see the matter resolved internally with the money repaid and the nuns disciplined by their order.

Sister Mary Margaret worked at the school for 29 years. Sister Lana taught there for 20 years.

[99call]

2 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

i first read this and had the obligatory giggle but then i read the bit about them not being charged. why the hell not?

It's a disgrace, but more so the repulsive paedophiles that get airlifted to the Vatican to avoid local laws where they've committed their crimes!?. These beasts get given an apartment in the Vatican city and get to live out their days, well fed and clothed by those who keep throwing gold in the basket. 

I notice the Vatican offer no shelter or money. Or counseling to those who've had their lives destroyed. Truly vomit inducing.

[Tobbot]

I hear and echo both of your frustrations. Especially the part about the pedophiles... seriously, you as an organization can't draw the line on this??? It's hard to make sense of and even harder to understand most of my family's continued faith. 

[Ken Gargett]

i wasn't planning on going down the pedophilia path as it can get fairly contentious but for those who are perhaps more in tune with religion than myself, would they not have got so much more support if they had drawn the line in the sand, not protected these people and assisted authorities? the ordinary person would have had a reason to support their church, i would have thought? instead, they have driven away thousands of former faithful. there are plenty of other reasons why people are deserting the church but this is a pretty major one. 

so instead, it looks like exactly what it is. a bunch of criminals protecting their own. no better than the mafia or any criminal mob. 

[MD Puffer]

Could be they had some dirt on a higher-up and that it was quicker, cheaper, and cleaner to handle it internally. But that’s just a guess. It’d be interesting to compare it to other cases of church pilferage and see what the outcomes of those cases were. If that’s their policy (to not charge) then it shouldn’t be surprising that they didn’t press charges, nor should it be surprising that continued thefts occur (you’re simply inviting people to steal from you if you don’t press charges). If other cases were handled differently and the thieves were charged?  Well, if I were a journalist then I might smell a bigger story.

[Ken Gargett]

6 minutes ago, MD Puffer said:

Could be they had some dirt on a higher-up and that it was quicker, cheaper, and cleaner to handle it internally. But that’s just a guess. It’d be interesting to compare it to other cases of church pilferage and see what the outcomes of those cases were. If that’s their policy (to not charge) then it shouldn’t be surprising that they didn’t press charges, nor should it be surprising that continued thefts occur (you’re simply inviting people to steal from you if you don’t press charges). If other cases were handled differently and the thieves were charged?  Well, if I were a journalist then I might smell a bigger story.

now we have blackmailing nuns! i love it. this just gets better and better.

more seriously, i suspect that if they did have anything on the higher ups, the entire thing would never have ever appeared. i'd bet that this is standard practice. 

[MD Puffer]

3 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

now we have blackmailing nuns! i love it. this just gets better and better.

more seriously, i suspect that if they did have anything on the higher ups, the entire thing would never have ever appeared. i'd bet that this is standard practice. 

Unless a well-intentioned underling (proper term?) filed a report before the vulnerable higher-ups had a chance to quash it. 

 

There’s a book in this. Maybe even a made-for-TV movie. 

[...]

12 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

i wasn't planning on going down the pedophilia path as it can get fairly contentious but for those who are perhaps more in tune with religion than myself, would they not have got so much more support if they had drawn the line in the sand, not protected these people and assisted authorities? the ordinary person would have had a reason to support their church, i would have thought? instead, they have driven away thousands of former faithful. there are plenty of other reasons why people are deserting the church but this is a pretty major one. 

so instead, it looks like exactly what it is. a bunch of criminals protecting their own. no better than the mafia or any criminal mob. 

Didn’t Jesus suggest to promptly turn the other cheek? (pun intended ?)