Poor Mojo's Newswire

Police have arrested a well-known Roman Catholic priest in connection with the theft of $1.3 million from the Sacred Heart/Sagrado Corazon parish over a seven-year period. Rev. Kevin J. Gray, 64, was charged today with first-degree larceny. Police said he used church funds to pay for hotels, restaurant meals, clothing and male escorts. Gray turned himself in to authorities this morning and is scheduled to be arraigned in Waterbury Superior Court today. Gray was placed on medical leave by Hartford Archbishop Henry J. Mansell on April 15. The priest had told people in the community he was gravely ill. Gray was described as a popular priest in Waterbury, having served in the city for 26 years, first at St. Margaret's and St. Cecilia's churches before arriving at Sacred Heart/Sagrado Corazon. "We are deeply saddened by the events which have recently had such a profound effect on Sacred Heart/Sagrado Corazon parish," Rev. John P. Gatzak, director of communications for the Hartford Archdiocese, said in a statement today.

The nation's highest court, asked to rule on a U.S. appeals court decision that cleared the way for the lawsuit to proceed, rejected the Vatican's immunity appeal without comment. The lawsuit, filed by a plaintiff identified only as John Doe, claimed he was sexually abused on several occasions in the mid-1960s when he was 15 or 16 by a Roman Catholic priest named Father Andrew Ronan. According to court documents, Ronan molested boys in the mid-1950s as a priest in Ireland and then in Chicago before his transfer to a church in Portland, Oregon, where he allegedly abused the victim who filed the lawsuit. Ronan died in 1992. The Vatican claimed immunity under a U.S. law, the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976, that allows foreign states to avoid being sued in court. But the law contains exceptions. The appeals court cited one of those, ruling the lawsuit has sufficiently alleged that Ronan was an employee of the Vatican acting within the scope of his employment under Oregon law. Pope Benedict met victims of abuse by priests during his April 2008 visit to the United States. The U.S. church has paid $2 billion in settlements to victims since 1992.

MONROE, Ohio - The famous King of Kings statue at the Solid Rock Church in Monroe has been destroyed by a fire. The 62-foot tall statue of Jesus constructed out of styrofoam, wood and fiberglass resin caught on fire after the right hand of the statue was struck by lightning during the severe thunderstorms around 11:15 p.m. Monday evening. The only thing left of the 16,000 pound statue is the metal frame. Monroe Fire Chief Mark Neu said the statue was fully involved in fire when crews arrived. Crews were able to use water from the pond in front of the statue, however, the fire burned very quickly, according to police. The statue was grounded, but for some reason it did not absorb the lightning strike. . . .