Churches experiencing thefts -- who knew?

[The Backlash Cometh]

It's an intriguing article

Churches keeping close eye on the collection plate
Tamper-proof bags and security officers are used to make sure parish money makes it to the bank.

Pass the collection plate

to the armed guard.

In the wake of scandals across the country involving embezzling church bookkeepers, a growing number of denominations are using safeguards such as private security and tamper-proof bags to guarantee money from church offerings makes its way into parish bank accounts.

"The tamper-proof bags offer one tool to maintain parishioner confidence in ensuring their donations are appropriately received, and used for the ministries for which they were intended," said Roger Barnes, comptroller for the Catholic Diocese of Orlando.

During the past few months, the diocese has started using the new bags, which are numbered for tracking purposes and, once sealed, can only be opened with scissors.

Auditors from the diocese also are training parish leaders in new accounting and oversight procedures, all of which are mandatory.

Of the 90 parishes and missions in the diocese, about 80 are using the bags, said Carol Brinati, diocese spokeswoman. All parishes and missions will be using them by early April.

Spot checks will be conducted in May and June at each of the parishes to make sure they comply with the new procedures.

In addition to the bags, some churches have been using armed guards to protect offerings.

At First Baptist Church of Orlando, one of Central Florida's largest, two ushers carrying collections from the sanctuary are escorted to a church vault by an Orlando police officer hired as private security, said Carrie Falconnier, a church spokeswoman.




http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-holymoney3008mar30,0,6287153.story

[leftofcool]

1. People stealing from Preachers=bad, Preachers stealing from people=good

These assholes fleece the flock then complain when the poorest in their church steal from them. Isn't that special.

[noel711]

2. Now that is unfair...

You only hear about the bad preachers,
so that make all preachers bad?

What about all those teachers who have sex with students..
does that make all teachers bad?

Or doctors who botch operations..
does that make all doctors bad?

Or mailcarriers who steal mail....
or chefs who pee in the soup.....
or longshoremen who don't inspect internation cargo...

Or politicians who take money under the table,
and flout their responsibility to their constituents
while milking the system dry...?
Oh.. never mind..

Guilt by association is the new law.

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. Well, here's the thing...

On the surface it might appear that your comments are warranted if we were comparing apples to apples, but the churches have forced their way into the political arena with George Bush, receiving public money like it never has before and preaching down to the rest of us. If they can't take that kind of public scrutiny, then maybe they should withdraw from the public arena?

[Clear Blue Sky]

5. Agree. There are a few bad apples in all walks of life.

[asteroid2003QQ47]

6. Now that is NOT unfair...

You switch the topic from churches to preachers
and YOU cry foul?
The looters get looted, hooray for the looters!

[midnight]

7. chefs who pee in the soup.....

Has not about this before.

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. Well, it's the embezzlement part that gets me.

I think I know the family of the person who embezzled a million dollars. I know the last name and the town named is where they live. What is so sad, if it is the same family, is that these are the nicest people you'll ever meet. I had noticed, however, that they were coming to the soccer games, a little more inebriated than usual. You can only imagine what family members must feel when they're trying to live their lives properly and have someone in the family that could do something of that magnitude. I mean, a million dollars. What does that say about the church that it allowed it to go on that long before catching on?

[malaise]

8. You stole my post

:rofl:

[fasttense]

9. When Jesse James was asked why he robbed banks,

he said, "Cause that's where the money is." If the churches weren't so rich they wouldn't be targeted. What happened to the nonprofit stuff that churches were suppose to be following?