Priests by their vocation should be pillars of society. Why then are there blog entries all the time on the discretions of the church’s most vaunted individuals? Here is another story from the Washington Post which unfortunately shines a negative light on God’s stewards.

Monsignor Kevin McAuliffe was sentenced to more than three years in federal prison and ordered to repay $650,000 he acknowledged embezzling from his northwest Las Vegas, Nevada parish to support his gambling habit.

The 59-year-old accepted responsibility for looting parish votive candle, prayer and gift shop funds for eight years, but faulted him for “hedging his bet” by blaming it on a gambling addiction.

McAuliffe offered a remorseful apology, saying he felt “guilt, shame and self-loathing,” and noting that he had “rightly” lost his positions of authority in the church. He asked the judge for leniency so he could make restitution, help others with gambling addictions “and atone for what I have done.”

While addiction is a common illness for people all over the planet, there is no reason he should get special consideration because of his vocation. If anything he should be punished even more harshly for stealing charitable funds!

McAuliffe is an opportunist and thief who didn’t exhaust his own savings before taking church cash to fund gambling, cars and travel. This is despicable behavior by one of the men working on God’s behalf to help make the world a better place.

While he will not receive counseling in jail, he has an opportunity to pray on what he did. Hopefully, after he gets out he can take a stop theft class and seek professional help for his addiction issues.