How many times have we seen this pattern with regard to diocesan scandals? Last week, we heard the story of the Connecticut priest, Fr. Michael Fay, who resigned after it was revealed he allegedly embezzled funds from his parish to support a lavish lifestyle for him and his male companion. According to the reports, the story came to light after a private investigator hired by someone in the parish found out the details.
Now we learn that the PI was hired by the other priest at the parish, Fr. Michael Madden, and the parish secretary, and now the second priest, who was put in charge after Fay resigned, has himself resigned. What a tangled web. Madden has apparently changed his story, too. In his first remarks to parishioners he said he hired the PI when he got fed up with Fay’s antics and claimed that Fay had made his service at the parish a living hell. He also said that he hired the PI when the Diocese of Bridgeport failed to take action and now the diocese is “ripping made” at him for his actions.
“I don’t know what is going to happen to me now, but whatever it is, it will be a welcome relief from the extreme physical and emotional strain I have been suffering,” Madden said. “I simply could not stand behind that altar and look out at you good people, knowing what was being done to you.”
Drinking the Kool-Aid
Technorati Tags: bishops, Bridgeport, Catholic, Connecticut, financial misconduct, scandal
