fake priest - CathNews New Zealand https://cathnews.co.nz Catholic News New Zealand Mon, 20 May 2019 04:56:49 +0000 en-NZ hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://cathnews.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/cropped-cathnewsfavicon-32x32.jpg fake priest - CathNews New Zealand https://cathnews.co.nz 32 32 70145804 Fake priest scams dozens of Catholics https://cathnews.co.nz/2019/05/20/fake-priest-scam-peru/ Mon, 20 May 2019 07:53:51 +0000 https://cathnews.co.nz/?p=117768 A man who falsely claimed to be a Catholic priest is facing justice in Peru for allegedly scamming over two dozen people. The church says it has never heard of the man who stole thousands of dollars and administered sacraments. The man says he worked in a priest in a church where he wasn't known. Read more

Fake priest scams dozens of Catholics... Read more]]> A man who falsely claimed to be a Catholic priest is facing justice in Peru for allegedly scamming over two dozen people.

The church says it has never heard of the man who stole thousands of dollars and administered sacraments.

The man says he worked in a priest in a church where he wasn't known. He celebrated fake masses in various places. Read more

Fake priest scams dozens of Catholics]]> 117768 Fraudster who posed as priest for decades caught https://cathnews.co.nz/2016/02/05/fraudster-who-posed-as-priest-for-decades-caught/ Thu, 04 Feb 2016 16:11:19 +0000 http://cathnews.co.nz/?p=80156

A fraudster who posed as a priest and celebrated sacraments for two decades in California has been arrested. Erwin Mena, 59, is alleged to have sold fake tickets for a bogus pilgrimage to see Pope Francis when he visited the United States. Mena allegedly pocketed more than US$15,000 for the con. Despite acting as a Read more

Fraudster who posed as priest for decades caught... Read more]]> A fraudster who posed as a priest and celebrated sacraments for two decades in California has been arrested.

Erwin Mena, 59, is alleged to have sold fake tickets for a bogus pilgrimage to see Pope Francis when he visited the United States.

Mena allegedly pocketed more than US$15,000 for the con.

Despite acting as a priest in several places, he would move on before Church authorities could act, court papers indicated.

He convinced pastors at different parishes they did not need to check his official "faculties" before letting him perform services.

These included Masses, confessions and weddings.

He allegedly made money by borrowing from people, selling faith-based videos for US$25 and producing several eBooks, including one about his "irreverent confessions", where he discussed celibacy.

He also accepted a US$16,000 to make a video about Pope Francis (that turned out to be pirated) and one person loaned him US$6000.

All in all, he is alleged to have swindled more than US$50,000.

He is facing 30 charges, including perjury, grand theft and practicing medicine without a licence.

If convicted on all these charges, he could face 21 years behind bars.

His name has been on a list of dozens of unauthorised priests and deacons, which is kept by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Some victims have been reimbursed for the bogus Pope pilgrimage.

Those who received the sacraments from Mena can receive them again, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles archdiocese said.

The archdiocese stated: "We are grateful to the Los Angeles Police Department for working to ensure that Erwin Mena was brought to justice."

"Our prayers go out to all the victims of his scam," the archdiocese added.

Sources

Fraudster who posed as priest for decades caught]]> 80156 Fake priest tries to get into Michael Schumacher's hospital room https://cathnews.co.nz/2014/05/06/fake-priest-tries-get-michael-schumachers-hospital-room/ Mon, 05 May 2014 19:09:35 +0000 http://cathnews.co.nz/?p=57345 A man dressed as a priest has tried to get into the hospital room of Formula One racing star Michael Schumacher, who is in a coma after a skiing accident. Schumacher's manager Sabine Kehm reportedly said this in German media. She said she had been told the fake priest is a journalist, and she called Read more

Fake priest tries to get into Michael Schumacher's hospital room... Read more]]> A man dressed as a priest has tried to get into the hospital room of Formula One racing star Michael Schumacher, who is in a coma after a skiing accident.

Schumacher's manager Sabine Kehm reportedly said this in German media.

She said she had been told the fake priest is a journalist, and she called the press intrusion "revolting".

Schumacher, a former world champion driver, is hospitalised in Grenoble in France.

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Fake priest tries to get into Michael Schumacher's hospital room]]> 57345