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Crime Cost In Catholic Church To Reach $65 Billion By 2025
Nov 3, 2009 
Whistle-blower Randall Radic, a former Catholic priest, exposes the well kept secrets hidden behind the doors of modern-day Catholicism in his new release Gone To Hell: True Crimes of America's Clergy (ECW Press/ 2009).
Randall Radic is himself a former pastor caught embezzling from the Church. After repenting and paying for his sins with a stint in prison, he has emerged a new man, one who still calls himself a Christian.
From a historical perspective, Radic remarks that embezzling has always occurred within the Church. In fact, "a Villanova University study of accounting problems in Catholic parishes in the United States" found "85% of the parishes reported embezzlement. 11% of the embezzlement was over $500,000." Vows of celibacy do not equate with poverty. Though priests are paid minimally, in addition to their housing, priests, Radic adds, are not required to take a vow of poverty.
Other sins committed by priests are those of sexual affairs, murder, and satanic worship. In a brief interview, Radic revealed that according to the Apostolic Signatura (one of nine special congregations of the Church), ecclesiastical crimes, which do not include sexual abuse crimes, have been estimated to have cost the Church $24 billion in 2007 alone. These rates are increasing at 5.77% per annum. If unchecked, they will reach $65 billion by 2025.
Though "control" over souls gives priests tremendous power, they themselves are not above the law. Clerical crime, Radic states, is growing at a faster rate than secular crime. Shockingly, the Church maintains seven rehabilitation sites in the United States for priests who are drug addicts, alcoholics, and pedophiles. The misdeeds of these men are simply a reflection of society as a whole.
An intriguing book, the purpose of Gone To Hell is not to condemn the Church, Catholicism, or its followers, but intends to enlighten readers as to the existing problems and their roots within the Church.
The sinful behavior of these priests has stigmatized both themselves and the Catholic Church with lasting repercussions felt in communities everywhere.
Today, in the 21st Century, the Church sits at the crossroads of transition. The values it purports to support are only as good as its representatives on the ground. The question is, which gate does it favor? And in a rapidly changing world, where people are essentially still the same, can the Church find its way behind an encroaching veil of darkness?
Read Gone To Hell: True Crimes of America's Clergy, an exceptional and necessary book for a crucial time of enlightenment and change.
Randall Radic is a former Old Catholic priest. After a midlife crisis, he spent time behind bars. Today, he has emerged a changed man. As the author of Gone To Hell: True Crimes of America’s Clergy (ECW Press/ Oct 2009), Radic aims to warn the public of the sins committed behind the walls of churches every day. Randall Radic is also author of A Priest in Hell: Gangs, Murderers and Snitching in a California Jail.
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Reader Comments (2)
The statement "the purpose of 'Gone To Hell' is not to condemn the Church" is of some concern as this simply mirrors the same processes which have been in play for so long and which played a fundamental role in these abuses occurring in the first place.
Unfortunately the ability to hold and to accept this stance is the result of an education from within the system itself after many generations of development of the cover up - this is so deeply ingrained that even seasoned survivors such as Randall can be deceived by it and subsequently will rely on it as a method of explanation or excuse. For me it feels like there is yet another hurdle to surmount here before we get through to the core of the issue.