US priests 'in $800,000 theft'

By Robert Pigott
BBC Religious Affairs Correspondent


Father John Skehan admits stealing the money for property and gambling
Two Roman Catholic priests have been accused of stealing $800,000 from the collection plate of their church in the US state of Florida.
They allegedly planned to spend the money on property, holidays, gambling and to meet the expenses of mistresses.
One of the priests, Fr John Skelan has admitted the charges, but his colleague Fr Francis Guinan denies them.
US law - the statute of limitations - prevents the priests being charged with thefts that occurred before 2001.
But the auditors say that up to $8m might have disappeared over a period of 20 years.
It could be the biggest embezzlement case to affect the Catholic Church in the United States.
One of the priests - Fr John Skehan - abandoned his not-guilty plea just before his trial began, and admitted stealing $800,000 given by parishioners at St Vincent Ferrer Church in West Palm Beach.
The priests allegedly hid the money in the church ceiling and opened offshore accounts.
Fr Skehan - who is 81 and has been given the honorific title "Monsignor" - served at the church for 40 years.
He admitted spending stolen money on expensive houses and gambling in Las Vegas.
Police reports claimed that he used more than $100,000 to pay the expenses of an alleged lover, and almost $300,000 on rare coins. More