This Week In Holy Crimes
Over the last seven days....
California: Pastor James Ray Guerrero charged with molesting "two young relatives" beginning when the boys were 11 years old.
Italy: A yearlong Associated Press inquiry uncovers 235 male victims of priest molestation.
Connecticut: Father Michael Jude Fay dies in prison 18 months after being convicted of stealing $1.3 million from his congregation. Fay spent the money on luxury trips, imported cars, jewelery, and shopping sprees at Saks, Nordstrom, and Bergdorf's.
Ohio: Pastor Hence Hamblin charged with gross sexual imposition for fondling underage female.
Florida: Pastor Rodney McGill sentenced to 20 years in prison for mortgage fraud.
Arizona: Pastor Charles Carfrey sentenced to two years in prison for sexually abusing congregants, including an underage female.
Mexico: Pastor Jose Marc Flores Pereira surrenders after hijacking an Aeromexico jet, telling authorities he was "on a divine mission" to protect the country from earthquakes. A total of 104 passengers and crew were on board when Pereira took over the plane by falsely claiming he had explosives.
Kentucky: Registered child molester of an 11 year-old boy, Pastor Mark Hourigan to be ordained as the preacher of a local Baptist Church. Parishioners unsurprisingly described as nervous.
Pennsylvania: Pastor Dennis Spangler charged with exposing himself to 13 year-old boy.
Washington DC: Pastor Jennifer Michelle Brennan charged with ten counts of sex with a minor. Brennan is a "youth minister," of course.
This Week's Winner-
Tennessee: Pastor Henry "Defender of Marriage" Lyons has been defeated in his bid to retake the presidency of National Baptist Convention. The three-times married Lyons was convicted in 1999 of stealing $4M from the organization, but totally wanted to run the show once again. He used the stolen money to buy luxury homes and support his mistresses (plural!), but after five years in prison he felt God had called him to lead the 7.5 million member organization one more time. Almost 20% of National Baptist conventioneers agreed and supported Lyons' failed bid.
Labels: "celibacy", religion, This Week In Holy Crimes