but who's counting?

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Mar 14, 2004

High on last autumn's edification list was the heart-warming story of Cape Cod priest Bernard Kelly, whose sometime handyman and boyfriend Paul Nolin was arrested for murder. It seems that the good padre was financing his non-traditional lifestyle by skimming the collection and juggling the parish books. Last November's civil court complaint filed by the diocese claimed the parish might be missing $50,000. An audit of the church's record now shows the amount pilfered by Kelly could reach $800,000.

Initial conclusions in a church audit show the exact loss will "far exceed" that [$50,000] amount, according to Fall River Diocese spokesman John Kearns.

One wonders whether the diocese's estimate of the extent of Kelly's sexual recreations is equally accurate.