Bookkeeper and diocese settle lawsuit

The Diocese of Bridgeport and a former Darien church bookkeeper on Monday reached a settlement in a lawsuit stemming from a former priest's embezzlement.

[Pat Rick Starr]

Now maybe we can put this behind us all. Though i'm sure all you Catholic haters will be weighting in. Here's some advice: worry about your place of worship.

[TooBad]

The Diocese's response is a lot of "Dancing With The Stars" or better yet "Foot Loose" gobbledygook. I'm not a Catholic hater...but come clean and be honest with your parishioners. Rev. Fay did wrong by taking the money and the Diocese wanted to keep it on the down low.

[No Justice]

All I can say is the Catholic church paid off another one.

[John Croke]

Lets all give Bishop Egan a big round of Thank Yous for torturing the people of St. Johns for 15 years.
My wife was the Director the Pre-School when Fr. Judy replace Fr. Boten. Three weeks after he arrived she told me he was stealing but couldn't prove it. Three months later she was fired, because he was afraid of her. For the next Fifteen years she could not use St. Johns as a reference on her resume because he would lie about her. A very, very evil Man. He stole for 15 years and nobody cared.
One day I asked my two young sons if they would ever consider the Priesthood, they answered. "What and live in the Fag house with Fr. Judy." Yes, that is how the kids in Darien refered to the rectory at St. Johns. The Fag House.
Thanks again Cardinal Egan..
We should all say a prayer for Bethany D'Erario. She had to deal with an evil man, she is special. Not enough money for her. God Bless you Bethany.

[John McInnis]

Let's just all be honest - the only reason any diocese settles any lawsuit is because there isn't a bishop in the country who wants to be subjected to cross-examination on the witness stand. Plain and simple!

[Ambrose]

How do we know that she wasn't complicit in the fraud?

[easter bunny]

John Croke wrote:

My wife was the Director the Pre-School when Fr. Judy replace Fr. Boten.

Who is Father Judy?

[lovely]

The lies of the diocese continues. You can't blame the younger generation for not participating in the catholic church.

[Observer]

Ambrose wrote:

How do we know that she wasn't complicit in the fraud?

You will never know. And, it is not just becuase your an idiot.

[Vox Pop]

John McInnis wrote:

Let's just all be honest - the only reason any diocese settles any lawsuit is because there isn't a bishop in the country who wants to be subjected to cross-examination on the witness stand. Plain and simple!

Neither Lori nor Egan ever want to be anywhere near a witness stand.
The last thing a "Prince of the Church" wants to do is be accountable in public under oath.
The bookkeeper took plenty of abuse for doing what everyone else but Lori - because of his prerogatives and powers - sees as the right thing.

[Observer]

John Cooke wrote,“He stole for 15 years and nobody cared.”

The Church knows where every nickel comes from; don’t doubt it for a second. They understand the cash flow from the plate, donations per parish and by region intimately. If you think the Bishop was not aware of the "drop" in cash flow after Jude’s appearance, well bliss is a nice place, but that thinking would require the Bishop to be an idiot or incompetent. I would argue the Bishop is neither, he is simply corrupt and taking his cut. It is reasonable to suspect that Egan is/was the Don and Father Jude was just one of his capos.

The bravery it took to blow the whistle on Jude, and possibly Egan, was and remains staggering. Desperate men do desperate things.

To the parishioners of St. John’s and other Catholics who have suffered through this and worse, please understand that most non-Catholics recognize these incidents are not a reflection of your faith, but of the fallibility of men; men within an organizational structure susceptible to corruption. I hope this case has allowed the parishioners more control within the Church. Good luck.

[Ambrose]

easter bunny wrote:

<quoted text>
Who is Father Judy?

Who is Father Boten? St. Johns never had a priest by either of those names.

[Ambrose]

Observer wrote:

<quoted text>
You will never know. And, it is not just becuase your an idiot.

Correcting your usage, the word is "you're". As well, because is spelled my way not yours. Maybe it is because you're a dumb Canadian.

[Senator Johnson]

These priests need to be executed for raping kids. It's a mockery of law that they always hide behind religion and get away with it.

[marym]

Money and sex --- the two issues the Church cannot be honest about at the moment. Both Beth and father Madden are the heros in a very old story.

[church going catholic]

Being critical of your church does not a church hater make.
Did it ever occur to the first poster than there are those who take issue with the way the Bridgeport Diocese conducts itself because of their great love for the church and its teachings?
The people commenting about leaders avoiding the witness stand is dead on right.

[Vox Pop]

church going catholic wrote:

Being critical of your church does not a church hater make.
Did it ever occur to the first poster than there are those who take issue with the way the Bridgeport Diocese conducts itself because of their great love for the church and its teachings?
The people commenting about leaders avoiding the witness stand is dead on right.

Exactly.
Many had high hopes for Lori on Egan's heels.
Sadly, he has shown us his petulant side instead.

[Norwalk Homeowner]

The Bridgeport Diocese and the Mafia, have much in common, organized crime.

[Sanford]

The Church is eternal. It will be here long after you and I are gone.

[kikkim]

Sanford wrote:

The Church is eternal. It will be here long after you and I are gone.

AMEN