In Brief
Singapore: Priest confesses to theft of 3 million dollars
Three million dollars have been stolen by a priest in the archdiocese of Singapore, over the past eight years. The latter confessed to having diverted the money in order to buy computers for his goddaughters, as well as an appartment for one of them. According to the agency France Presse, Fr. Joachim Kang, aged 55, is on trial for a crime committed at the church of Saint Teresa, where he carried out his ministry between 1994 and 2002. The archbishop of Singapore, Mgr. Nicholas Chia, has discreetly acknowledged that he has doubts as to whether the relationship between the priest and the young girls, was in keeping with the normal ties between a godfather and his goddaughters.- With loot amounting to 3 million dollars, this churchman could certainly become a godfather in the Mafia!
Poland: Six priests accused of illegal car trading
Six Polish priests of the diocese of Rzeszow, in the south of the country, have been accused of having illegally imported cars from Belgium, France and Germany. The accusation concerns 40 vehicles imported without payment of customs duties between 1994 and 1997. 23 vehicles were imported by Fr. Wola Dalsza alone, in order to dispose of them on the market. The cars were officially given to the priest to support their charitable works, as Polish law exonerates custom duty for goods destined for works of charity. In fact, these cars were sold to private individuals, and the profits came back to the dealers with Roman collars most certainly allowing them to acquire church vestments.
