Ongoing religious scandals

New York Times wrote:

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — He had an endearing habit, parishioners recalled, of popping a grape-flavored Jolly Rancher into his mouth before entering the dim nave of St. Augustine’s Cathedral on his way to conduct Mass. He laced his sermons with jokes, they said, but knew when to be serious, too, while leading his parishioners in prayer. These days, it is the priest, Msgr. Kevin Wallin, whose soul his parishioners are praying for.

“This is all the work of evil,” Elizabeth Badjan, a longtime parishioner, said on Sunday as she left the 8:30 a.m. Mass at the church. “He was not close enough to God. He was tempted by the devil.”

It was just days after the news that Monsignor Wallin had been indicted on charges that he had been part of a cross-country drug ring, sold crystal meth and possibly laundered the profits through an adult sex toy and video shop he owned. “He needs our prayers,” Ms. Badjan said, holy water still visible on her forehead.

Monsignor Wallin stepped down as St. Augustine’s pastor in June 2011, telling parishioners he needed time to deal with personal and health problems, and the Diocese of Bridgeport granted him a sabbatical. Since then, according to a grand jury indictment filed on Jan. 15, he developed partnerships with crystal meth suppliers in California and sold thousands of dollars worth of the drug a month. He was arrested on Jan. 3, though the case did not become widely known until last week.

But for the nine years Monsignor Wallin presided over St. Augustine, he seemed to churchgoers like the consummate priest, one high enough in the church’s good graces, they said, that he could be seen at Broadway musicals with Cardinal Edward M. Egan, his mentor and the former archbishop of New York. If anything was unusual, it was his ability to inspire and connect with his parishioners, they said. “Let me put it this way: He’s not a boring priest,” Philip Pham, 41, said before the 10 a.m. Mass as he headed toward the gray stone church, which overlooks a bustling highway and sits amid modest houses in Connecticut’s most populous city. “He was very inspirational,” he added, “very charismatic.”

When Monsignor Wallin left the church, many were sad to see him go, Mr. Pham, who travels from nearby Fairfield every week to play guitar at St. Augustine, said. That was nothing compared with the devastation the church community felt when news of Monsignor Wallin’s arrest broke, several other parishioners said. “I cry my eyes out,” Ms. Badjan said of the day she heard the news. “Whole day, I couldn’t eat. And I asked God, ‘Why is this happening?’ ”

Mr. Wallin faces seven counts on two charges, conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and possessing the drug with the intent of distributing it. According to the indictment, an informant told Drug Enforcement Administration officers that he had started buying several ounces of crystal meth every week — at a price of $1,500 per ounce — from Monsignor Wallin after meeting him at a party in early 2012. (The Connecticut Post reported that detectives said there was no indication that he had sold drugs while he was still serving as pastor.)

An undercover officer then started buying crystal meth from Monsignor Wallin, who would sell it at his Waterbury apartment or hide it in a magazine and hand it over in parking lots. The police also said that Monsignor Wallin had purchased an adult video and novelty store in North Haven, called Land of Oz, which, the indictment said, he might have used to launder the money from the sales. Several people identified as Monsignor Wallin’s partners and suppliers were also charged. The diocese said that it had suspended Monsignor Wallin in May 2012, though it did not say why.

The diocese released a statement expressing “shock and concern on the part of the diocese and the many people of Fairfield County who have known him as a gifted, accomplished and compassionate priest.” Glenda and Christine Beard, sisters who were baptized by Monsignor Wallin and who, while growing up, were his altar servers during Mass, said that he was full of jokes and was always eating Jolly Ranchers. When they were sleepy in the mornings, Glenda Beard, now 18, said, he would gently tease them.

“What did you do last night?” he would ask, an impish suggestion, she said, in his voice. When Monsignor Wallin left St. Augustine, he was circumspect, telling them simply that he was going to a different church. “He wanted to help other people with their problems,” Ms. Beard said he told her.

robindch wrote: »

The EU has let Italy waive the billions in back-taxes that were levied against the church:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/eu-lets-catholic-church-off-its-billioneuro-tax-bill-8426163.html