But there is a far bigger question that faithful and concerned Catholics should be asking:
Why did Bishop Pepe avoid auditing SEAS for the entire duration of Msgr. McAuliffe's tenure as pastor?
In the Diocese of Las Vegas, all parishes are required to provide financial statements, but in addition to this, all parishes are audited every few years. That is, all parishes except St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.
According to a highly credible and trusted source familiar with the inner workings of the diocese, Msgr. McAuliffe had been refusing diocesan audits for years. According to my source, Msgr. McAuliffe claimed that an audit infringed on his rights as pastor of St. Elizabeth's and therefore insisted the parish not be audited. Now we know why.
While Msgr. McAuliffe and SEAS did provide the required financial statements (which we now know were falsified), the church was not actually subjected to an audit in approximately 10 years. For a parish with a multi-million dollar budget and one as big as SEAS, this is highly irregular.
Call to Prayer:
Lord God, your faithful sons and daughters are at your feet. Help us to fully give ourselves over to your Adorable Will and to trust completely in you. Bless your Holy Priests and Bishop, help and guide them so that they may always serve you first and foremost in all things. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sadly, we will never know why the Bishop allowed this. I wish we could get a new Bishop.
ReplyDeleteBy not auditing St. Elizabeth’s for the 10 years that he has been bishop of Las Vegas, Bishop Pepe has created a situation of scandal. I am not talking about scandal in the sense of a situation that causes public outrage, although there has been plenty of that in the 10 years that Pepe has been bishop (Fr. Mark Roberts, Fr. Bill Kenny, Fr. George Chanine, Msgr. Kevin McAuliffe, etc.). Rather I am talking about scandal in a moral sense: an act or omission or attitude that leads another to do evil. If a pastor knows that he might be audited and that wrongdoing might be uncovered, he might resist the temptation to steal, if he is so tempted. By never auditing St. Elizabeth’s, Pepe created a situation of scandal for Msgr. Kevin. Perhaps if Msgr. Kevin had been worried about getting caught, he might never have stolen all of that money. If Pepe had looked into what was going on in his parishes (there aren’t that many), he would have realized that Msgr. Kevin was functioning as comptroller and that there inadequate cash controls in place. I agree with the sentiments of the last comment -- why can’t we get a new bishop?
ReplyDeleteThe astonishing thing is, Bishop Pepe acts as if his role of enabler, with all events connected to the priests above, (Gratian) is non-existent. When will Bishop Pepe be held accountable? I read a post from The Badger,a former military person makes a valid and honorable point.Our Church is a Church Militant. So promotes this forum here. Priests who are found guilty of felonies and even lesser scandals of a criminals nature, should be bound to a strict code of justice. They are not, so they get away with corruption until caught and even then, they can escape appropriate justice. McAuliffe, Kenny, Chanine, Roberts, all of them should be given Bad Conduct Discharge from service to Gods House. We allow it. Our Institution is set up to take it easy on criminal priests.Pepe is a master enabler. He needs to be subjected to the highest scrutiny. 10 years of theft on his watch. And Kenny, spending $350,000 of monies belonging to a trusting family.The punishment? -a slap on the wrist. Welcome to Catholic Las Vegas. Bad Conduct Discharge is most appropriate. All of them should go. If our Church is militant, then military justice codes should apply. This would deter crime and scandal. They do these things because they know they can!
ReplyDeleteI also wonder why Fr. Mark Gantley was "dismissed" from St. Francis of Assisi by Bishop Pepe so abruptly and with a very unclear explanation....perhaps, as a Canon lawyer, Fr. Mark Gantley uncovered something amiss. He was extremely bright and very careful regarding financial accountability. Kind of makes you wonder about Pepe and his reasoning. Guess who he put in place briefly after Fr. Mark left? Non other than good old Kevin McAuliff to over-see things until Fr. John Assalone took over! Totally amazing!
ReplyDeleteAhhh! The Posts of Oct. 27th and 31st indicate to the keen reader of this fine Christian blog, a point made by many already, but, you see, the drama and scandal of underling wayward priests has shadowed and distracted from the obvious: Pepe is our man. My dear friends in Christ. I plead. I beg. I implore to the ear of your heart. I tell you, with no pleasure. With no other intention as one who simply wants you to see clearly. With no glad tidings. That behind the curtain,all along, lurked the General who knew-who allowed-who,it sickens me to report, looked the other way! He knew. He turned a blind eye. Pepe! Pepe! He is your man!
ReplyDeleteYoung Gantley, bright, sober and exhibiting a clear Christian conscience was much too "clean" for Pepe and his shady,select few, and is replaced by whom? (Quote 10/21) "None other than good old Kevin McAuliffe, etc." Amazing? Not really. Not for those of us who were employed by these men and left their employ as one would flee a burning building. I, one of them. Pepe kept his hands clean of dirty money and he made sure no traces of financial funny business could be linked to him. His boys were doing good enough to skim those dollars. How dare he insult us any longer? How dare he play the virtuous Captain of The Ship, while his mates gathered the spoils, year after year? How cunning a thespian, to appear on our local stage now, his lines well rehearsed, with the aid of McAuliffe's attorney, as he plays the staunch disciplinarian. Oh, if only Hollywood could see his performance! As he changes color faster than a chameleon and,late,late, 10 years too late! A leader of men? Ha! A fraud! He only now gives the people what they want! And why? Why?
Because his boy was caught. And, his favored son, Kenny, with his strong political ties had brought the heat his way prior. No,the Master Thespian Pepe had to act fast.He was forced to act as if he was an iron handed ruler. He had to play the part! The citizens would have him do so. Oh, horror of unholy alliance. May God pity this band of false, greedy liars.
Your man Pepe comes now, center stage. Which is, much too late! Ten years after. Poor, good young Gantley. He should flee this false den of vipers and take his true priesthood to more nobler leadership. Of course, Pepe's script must fit his new role of enforcing law and order. But wait! Hark! I hear a voice of Reason! I Listen as Common Sense screams to be heard aloud in the corrupt halls of Catholic Las Vegas. The Voice comes my dear friends to inform you, to release you from ignorance, no different than that Holy Day when Tongues of Flame brought a Pentecost of Change...and this Voice comes as a gift of insight and wisdom,proclaiming none other than this:
Bishop Pepe has been the Cause. Bishop Pepe looked away as the cock crowed thrice. Bishop Pepe fell asleep as Truth suffered in our Church's Gethsemane. Bishop Pepe, my dear Christian friends, he, HE IS YOUR MAN.
"And Pilate, then ordered a servant to fetch a water bowl and towel. Not wanting to be associated with the punishment of Christ, he symbolically washed his hands and said: "I have nothing to do with this."
Oh, horror of unholy alliance indeed.
Father Mark Gantley was the best priest in the diocese. His parishioners loved him because of his holiness. He is honest and open. He should still be here with us. This diocese needs priests like him. We will never forget him nor will we ever stop missing him.
ReplyDeleteA priest who displays the honesty, intelligence, integrity and faithfulness that
ReplyDeleteFr. Mark J. Gantley posseses does not deserve to be a part of this corrupt diocese. God has moved him on to protect him from Pepe's den of thieves & the evil that lurks in every corner of this diocese. A diocese where the head Shepherd does not care for or is not concerned about his sheep. A Shepherd who fails to lead & fails to mentor to his priests. When will the Church Militant be able to awaken the eyes and ears of the Holy See to the crimes that have been committed in this diocese? We have written numerous letters yet none will come to our defense. Is it once again the old "let's brush it under the rug" mentality of the church leaders? No one investigates. No one listens. No one responds or cares. Is it really only about the money we faithful Catholics give? Is there no accountability for this Bishop? Isn't that why we have an Apostolic Nuncio? Do we really deserve this treatment?
Get real, people! It will only take time until Gantley's real self will show forth. Extreme othodoxy is a symptom of someone hiding someting. "Look how holy I am, so you won't see who I really am!" It worked for McAuliffe for years. It's working for Gantley as well. Like Gantley, McAuliffe had blind followers too. I guess we'll have to wait for the Gantley scandal to break for his disciples to recognize the wolf in sheep's clothing. Gantley is a diocese hopper ... and that's the first red flag. It's easy to blame the bishop, especially when you don't have to walk in his shoes and be attacked from people who don't have a clue. Remember, God is the only one we should trust completely.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous Nov. 1. What a great post. I agree that Father Mark Gantley is better off not being in the Diocese of Las Vegas, unfortunately, his parishioners are not. This diocese desperately needs priests like Father Mark.
ReplyDeleteTo whoever hides behind this blog, it's very obvious you will post only those who agree with you. Now I'm convinced that the devil has corrupted you since you are working endlessly to destroy our shepherd when you do not know the facts. Yes, my friend, the devil has great cause for joy in that you are his disciple causing such discord within this local church. This is exactly what the devil wants to do and you are making his job all the easier! Congratulations on helping the devil destroy the unity and charity of the church! I hope some day you'll see the errors of this blog and that you'll try and build up the church you're presently and succesfully working to destroy. Until then, just keep on doing what you're doing and keep putting a smile on the devil's face!
ReplyDeleteTo anonymous Nov.4th, Father Gantley never said "look how holy I am", no he actually showed his holiness in everything he did, he didn't talk about it. He came to the Diocese of Las Vegas because he was asked to come and help us build our church. Who ever you are, it is clear that you never met Father Gantley otherwise you would know how wrong you are. I am a lifelong Catholic and I have never "blindly followed" anyone. I supported Father Mark because he was the best pastor I have ever had and believe me, I've had many pastors.
ReplyDeleteNo one is trying to destroy the Diocese of Las Vegas, sadly it is imploding. Most of us who comment on this blog love the Church and want it to become better.
ReplyDeleteThe Empire Strikes Back!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteDear Nov 4th 12:02 am Anocreator poster I see there is no name assigned to your post. What are you hiding? Our esteemed Bishop hides behind many people & priests in this diocese. It is time someone exposes him for who he really is-perhaps he too could be called a "diocese hopper". From Philadelphia to Albuquerque to Las Vegas; did he clean up these dioceses or just turn his eye to the corruption? Is he an enabler of unorthodox priests or a real Sheperd?. Research for yourself and you decide what's fact or fiction. All you have to do is Goggle his name. There have been numerous scandalous priests in this diocese & the one thing they all have in common is the Bishop. It was all conducted on his watch. Extreme narcissism is also a sign that someone is hiding something. Both Bishop Pepe & Msgr . McAuliffe possess this trait. It is also easy for church leaders to prey on the trust of the faithful only to have that trust crushed over and over again. It was on the watch of many Bishops that sexual predators were allowed to thrive many who were Bishops themselves. Should we continue to blindly trust these men out of respect for their authority in the Church. I, for one, say NO! Many off us do have a clue and have made an informed choice to say enough is enough. I believe God is leading the heart, mind, & soul of the creator of this blog. It has helped many in this diocese awaken to the evil within our parishes. Thank the Lord the smart people of SEAS went directly to the federal officials. This man will be held accountable. And this diocese won't rest until it is cleaned up!
ReplyDeleteA few corrections to my previous post- I meant to address the Anonymous poster (not Anocreator poster) and meant to say Google (not Goggle) and lastly many of us ( not many off us) do have a clue.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good blog. To: Nov. 4th 11:52pm.. You are defending Pepe? You think that because former employees of this Diocese voice their pain and sense of betrayal here, that they are somehow in league with the Devil? You think that bringing up Pepe for the kind of leader he is, (failed) is creating further scandal? You think that this good blog that defends good Catholics and our freedom as Christians, WON BY CHRIST, is something harmful to the Diocese and Pepe?
ReplyDeleteQuestion: "What planet are you living on?"
This Blog simply announces truths about scandal and the priests and bishop associated with such. Period. This blog and the writers who comment on the obvious do NO HARM to the Church or the Diocese. If anything, this blog and the writers who expose fraud priests and bishops are bearers of light!! We are the ones who defend our Church! How dare you say we are in league with evil and that we make the devil smile!
You! You, my ignorant and poor friend, you are wrong! Keep supporting Pepe and denouncing this blog and us, and you, can laugh with the Devil as he takes you, Pepe,and these false priests down the path of ignorance and perdition.
You obviously have not done your homework as Blue Army Warrior has. (above) Your comment is built on sand. Your attack on this blog has no reasoning or ground to stand on. Pepe turned away for 10 years-10 years-10 years-while McAuliffe pillaged the good people of SEAS. As far as I'm concerned, Pepe is a co-conspirator!
And no Devil laughs at that my friend! He got his laugh already! When he snagged Pepe, McAuliffe, Kenny and now...you! The laugh, I'm sad to say, is on you friend. You too, are duped...you think you are doing a good thing by attacking this blog and defending Pepe. My good Lord, how blind can one be?
You need prayer.
Blue Army Warrior reminds us all of a chief concern. Much of the problems and scandal associated with the Catholic Church at-large is NOT QUESTIONING AUTHORITY. (Nov. 4th 12:02 AM and Nov. 4th 11:52 PM-you both need to do some research before writing.)No person here, nor the creator of this blog has or will harm the Church or Diocese. It enlightens and informs. "It's easy to blame the Bishop, etc" Yes, it is and common sense dictates so. The man was in charge! He let McAuliffe and Bill Kenny do whatever they damned pleased! "Walk in the Bishops shoes.." ?? As if Pepe had hard shoes to fill? As if Pepe's job was tough? And one of you would tell us to "get real?"
ReplyDeleteYou two are the furthest from reality on this blog. Not based on personal sentiment or the devils corruption..but simply, facts. You both have yet to grasp the facts related to Pepe and this Diocese. This is obvious to the most unlearned reader. Do your homework before making comments.
Blue Army Warrior is correct, again. Most of us DO have a clue. Some of us, and I for one, worked for this Diocese and McAuliffe.I know far more than most here and I certainly know more than the both of you.
Pepe needs to be held accountable. Enough said.
This blog is nothing more than pharisaical, self-righteous, self-proclaimed better than everyone else sorely misguided children of God, who have a great need to put others down in order to make their own importance felt. The last I heard, the Messiah has already come and assured us that we should not be afraid, but that we should trust in God's divine mercy. You people think you've been given some divine mandate to save the church? God has done a great job for 2000 years without you, and he will continue to be the shepherd that guides us who do his will. May you open your hearts to the God who desires that we be ONE as God is ONE, that same God who is love. I love you all and pray that all you do may build up God's kingdom in his peace and mercy and not in self-righteous condemnation. By the way, I will remain anonymous because I fear the hatred expressed here.
ReplyDeleteFrom earliest Catechesis we have been taught that we must not be silent when we observe wrong-doing. We are speaking up because we love our church. There is no hatred here, only deep, deep sorrow.
ReplyDeleteWe parishioners at Saint Francis of Assisi who fought to keep a holy, intelligent, & desperately needed priest in our parish were all given a slap in the face by our Bishop informing us that we were not being "children of God". Quite interesting to see that phase being used again in the Anonymous post on 11/15 1:56am. The one who remains anonymous due to a fear of hatred. We are not better than our fellow Catholics nor do we have a need or desire to "put someone down". We want to open the eyes of those around us to the lack of leadership, to the unorthodox practices and to the corruption that continues in this diocese. There are more priests to fall from grace in the Las Vegas diocese. It is only a matter of time. We will patiently wait and continue to pray for the ones who have committed the crimes and the ones who have turned a blind eye to those crimes. There is nothing self-righteous about people speaking out to protect our Church. Evil exists when good men and women remain silent! My trust is in God's Divine Mercy and I know He will hear our cries for help.
ReplyDeleteEarlier than catechesis is the Gospel: Let the one WITHOUT sin cast the first stone!
ReplyDeleteThere's an awful lot of stones flying here! I'm sure Christ is proud of this blog and all the judges he has commissioned. NOT!
There are such elements as confidentiality for which our bishop is being crucified by the so-called know-it-alls. They say they worked for the diocese and McAuliffe...thank God they're not there anymore.
Christ said that the gates of hell would not prevail against his Church. Why don't these people trust Christ and what he said? Why do they feel compelled to destry others when they really don't have a clue?
Let's face it: these people don't like the bishop and they'll claim impossible to know knowledge to justify their self-righteousness, and the devil smiles with joy. He wants people to attack their bishop and feel justified while they're doing it, all in the name of saving the church. Keep up the good work, people! Keep the devil dancing for joy!
To Nov: 15th 1:56 AM: Wrong. Though your observation is altruistic and idealistic, your own words put you in the category you seem to condemn. You call the blog and it's participants: "self-righteous,pharisaical self-proclaimed better than everyone else.." My friend: "Who are you to say this?" Are you now the judge of this blog and the people using it to express hurt and anger? You fail to see that most people here have been hurt. I, for one, could label you one of the enablers..for such do you sound. We are given a mandate to uphold our Church, it's the essence of the Gospel. Have you been given a Divine Mandate to condemn us? You call us self-righteous, yet you say, "I love you all and pray that all you do may build up God's Kingdom, etc.." Think of how SELF RIGHTEOUS that sounds!! You would be better than us all apparently. Nov: 16th 5:54 AM hits the target well: this is a forum of people to express hurt, anger and truth. Nobody is condemning here-they are calling out falsity in our Church hierarchy. Nov. 15th, your own sense of self righteousness, I'm afraid, has clouded your reason and your capacity to embrace facts. Being One begins with those who are not One with us, being removed. Jesus also came to clear the threshing floor..to separate weeds from wheat..goats from sheep..and cautioned us to beware of false prophets and wolves in sheep's clothing..
ReplyDeleteJesus strongly opposed religious hierarchy who were corrupt. So do we here. If Jesus did this in time, He does so in eternity. So, Nov. 15th, you are the self-righteous one and we? We are in good company..we never make claim to "save" the Church..but we are obligated to defend it, with Christ as our Standard.
I will pray for you also.
You are a sinner I imagine?
Recently in all churches across the USA well-meaning Chritians were asked to contribute to the Catholic Campaign For Human Development (CCHD). Being good Christians, many contribute because we think it will help feed poor children.
ReplyDeletePart of being a "Good Christian" is to have an understanding of where and what your contributions are supporting. Especially since a percentage of those contributions (usually 10%) is kept by the diocese. This is part of being watchful and alerting others when crimes are taking place right in our own back yards. That is the Church Militant-those of us here on earth who struggle against the World , the Flesh and the Devil. It is not only the diocese of Las Vegas that suffers from corruption. If you want to know where your contributions to CCHD are really going research this website www.reformcchdnow.com
Too bad you wouldn't post my earlier comment which quoted Jesus. I guess posting that would put your sorry, judgemental, self-righteous blog out of commission. When you don't like the message, just get rid of the messenger(Jesus). They tried it 2000 years ago, but, unfortunately for you, his divine message lives on. Thank God this blog doesn't have a great readership...that's probably God's doing since he doesn't want something trying to destroy his church to flourish. He said, "the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against his church.". So, I guess your SOL!
ReplyDeleteTo Anonymous 28, "trying to destroy His church, " What? We love the church, are you not reading the posts? We are fighting for our Church. This blog wants the Church to be better, not to destroy her.
ReplyDeleteI have been following this blog for quite some time and I have never sensed any hatred, or self-righteousness from the blogger. On the contrary, I sense a deep love of Holy Mother Church and concern for our bishop and priests calling them to be what they were called to be, shepherds of souls. Granted, some of the things brought to light are unpleasant but that is what happens sometimes when light is cast on the darkness. We are called to be children of light and to live in the light(John 12:36, Ephesians 5:8, Philippians 2:15, 1 Thessalonians 5:5).
ReplyDeletePlease remember what happened during the abuse scandal in the early 2000s. For decades people had kept silence because it was taboo to say anything negative of a priest or bishop and this silence provided the darkness that the abusers needed to continue their evil deeds. If there had been brave souls willing to expose the wrongdoing there would have been less victims and less pain for the entire Church.
November 19th is a classic enabler of dysfunction and not at all realistic. People have a right to speak out. They are hurt, angry, even abused. Not speaking out and being afraid to, has lead to much abuse in our church. November 19th would have us remain silent while we continue to be fooled and mislead. Priests and Bishops serve the people. The people who once worked for the Diocese and/or McAuliffe that speak out here do so for a valid reason...the truth...not condemnation. November 19th is not in a position to comment on the experience of Diocesan employees. I'm afraid it's the devil who is dancing with November 19th...a person who would have us be silent in the face of scandal and abuse. Only a fool would have us not question religious authority, or express our hurt over the negligence and crimes acted upon our people by wayward priests. November 19th, you need to go and talk to victims of hierarchy abuse and while you are at it, get the facts straight before coming on this blog and making yourself look foolish. There is corruption here November 19th; theft, abuse, lying and deceit..listening to you would lead to a spiritual death and a future church doomed to failure. You need prayers.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that Msgr. Kevin steals at least $650,000 from the church and admits it, but this blog blames the Bishop! Typical....the blogger obviously has a vendetta against the bishop.
ReplyDeleteTo Jan 13-who is responsible for shepherding the flock of the Las Vegas Diocese? Is it responsible of a person in the position of Bishop to allow his priests to continue to abuse their parishioners? Is it responsible for a Bishop to not have standards in place to deter the financial misgivings of his priests? A Shepherd is one who protects, guides and watches over his flock. Does that sound like a role portrayed by Bishop Pepe? This blog is giving the faithful Catholics a means to voice their concerns and to be heard. That is something that they will never get from Bishop Pepe. He is not the least bit interested in listening to his flock. We need a leader in this diocese who will show care and concern for the people who love their faith. Please continue this blog so others eyes may be opened and our prayers will be answered!
DeleteNov19 & Jan 13: It's nice to know that there are still people who see the truth or at keast try to live by the Gospel rather than put themselves in the place of Almighty God and think they know it all. This blog does nothing to build up the church, but only seeks to destroy by bringing out other's dirt. Woe to those who revel in other's misfortunes.
ReplyDeleteJanuary 14, how can you say we want to destroy the church? We want it to be the best it can be. Just like Blue Army Warrior said, we need someone in charge who will protect and guide us. We need a Shepherd who cares about his flock.
ReplyDelete