Saturday, September 02, 2006
UPDATE ON THE PARISH THAT MAY BE CLOSED
WARRENSVILLE HEIGHTS, Ohio (CNS) -- A Franciscan priest resigned as pastor of a parish in the Cleveland Diocese after police investigators looking into the theft of checks from the parish discovered that two women and a man had been blackmailing him.
Father Thomas Carolan, a member of the Franciscans' province of Sacred Heart based in St. Louis, faces no criminal charges. He had been pastor of St. Jude Church in Warrensville Heights, a Cleveland suburb, since 1990.
Cleveland Bishop Anthony M. Pilla accepted the resignation of Father Carolan, 74, March 28. (Bishop Pilla retired as head of the diocese April 4.)
On March 27, the priest had reported to police that checks had been stolen from the church, Warrensville Heights Police Chief Frank Bova said.
Bova said police were trying to determine if the trio was extorting money from the priest because one of the women allegedly had sex with him. It was unclear whether any money paid to the blackmailers came from the priest's own funds or from parish or Franciscan funds.
Rose Kovacic, 46, and Elaine Presser, 47, sisters who live in Mayfield Village, have pleaded innocent in Bedford Heights Municipal Court to felony charges of extortion, theft, forgery and uttering, a crime related to the use of counterfeit money or forged checks. Both were being held in the Bedford Heights Jail on $500,000 bond.
Continue reading...
I'm not familiar with the "Catholic Explorer" website. The diocesan newspaper is the "Universe Bulletin."
If you read all the way to the end of the story you'll see this line:
"The diocese has no intent to close the parish," Father Jurcak said. "We're looking at the best way to provide for the pastoral life of the parish that is still a vital community."
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And wouldn't you know there would be a sexual component. From Bishop's Accountability:
Priest Claiming Blackmail Now Faces Theft Charge
By James F. McCarty
Cleveland Plain Dealer [Ohio]
August 9, 2006
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?
/base/cuyahoga/1155112327182470.xml&coll=2
A priest in Warrensville Heights who accused two women of hooking him in a blackmail scheme now has criminal problems of his own.
A Cuyahoga County grand jury indicted the Rev. Tom Carolan last month on a theft charge.
Police and prosecutors say he paid his blackmailers with money stolen from St. Jude Parish on Richmond Road.
Carolan, 74, pleaded not guilty to the charge Tuesday in Common Pleas Court.
Defense lawyer Ian Friedman said he would work with prosecutors to resolve the case.
"The co-defendants certainly took advantage of a 74-year-old man," Friedman said.
Carolan's problems began this year after he had sex with a woman. The priest told police that Elaine Presser, 47, of Mayfield, and her sister, Rosemarie Kovacic, 46, of Mayfield Heights, and Leonard Goldberg, 53, of Willoughby, demanded money in exchange for their silence.
Continue reading...
The priest has resigned, is being treated for "unspecified medical conditions at a hospital in Illinois. One of the women about to be tried is the daughter of Teamster President Jackie Presser.
Methinks there is a whole lot more about the situation in Cleveland that the press hasn't unearthed yet.
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!
