Monday, December 14, 2015

Italian Police Confiscate Fake Papal Blessings

ROME (Reuters) - Italian police have confiscated about 3,500 counterfeit parchments bearing blessings by Pope Francis and being sold to pilgrims in Rome, authorities said on Monday.

The bogus parchments, with elaborate lettering and pictures of the pope, were found in the printing shop of a souvenir store near the Vatican, and the proprietor was charged with producing counterfeit goods, a police statement said.

It said the parchments were printed in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and English and had an overall value of about 70,000 euros ($77,168).

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN0TX1WG20151214

11 comments:

Robbie said...

Honest question. At this point, shouldn't all blessings bearing the name of Pope Francis, real or fake, be considered bogus?

Bill Murphy said...

Totally agree! Doesn't this sort of activity fall under the condemnation of simony, whether it is "fake" or "genuine"?

Har Har Har said...

Does seem rather fitting, doesn't it?

Deacon Augustine said...

Perhaps the Italian Police might also confiscate the fake Pope? Might be worth a prayer to St Jude at any rate.

Anonymous said...

Isn't Pope Francis a validly ordained priest??

Anonymous said...

Fake blessings for fake Holy Year of Mercy......70.000 euros, psshh!For the USA papal travel, only Philly spent 12 million $. Wonder every day whether he's a pope, a bishop or a nightmare.....God bless+

Anonymous said...

This is more Francis GREED -- while he talks about "mercy" and giving people jobs -- he TAKES AWAY jobs and revenues from the poor and pulls it in for the Team B pervert den of danneels, mccarrick, maradiaga, (who's the cardinal queer from India) pedophile, sodomite and baby murderer gang of h8. Wonder how much the UN is paying them?

http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2014/09/10/vatican-reins-in-sales-of-papal-blessings/

BULLY Francis, BULLY Wuerl--they worship (the man God) CRIST (and need major bucks to pay Satn off).
http://nypost.com/2015/12/10/priest-paid-his-male-sex-master-from-collection-plate-lawsuit/

P.S. when you gonna get to covering Pell's not going to Australia? Seems a bit odd like Burke.

P.P.S. Re: the NY Priest scandal - does anyone know if the ADNY couldn't move against him because HE could now sue the diocese for discrimination (since he is a 'gay man')? Also Church has been using the defense that the pedophiles were on their own time so the Church/diocese not responsible for their actions. So in their view this 'gay man' was romping on his own free time (?)

"Yet McAlinden wasn’t officially a priest when he took a teenage Naples to Delaware, the lawyer argued. “How do we determine when a priest is and is not on duty?” one of the justices asked, according to a video of the session on the court’s website. “Well,” replied the diocese lawyer, “you can determine a priest is not on duty when he is molesting a child, for example. ... A priest abusing a child is absolutely contrary to the pursuit of his master’s business, to the work of a diocese.” The statement — one prong of the diocese’s argument that it should not be held responsible for McAlinden’s alleged assaults — left Naples reeling."

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2014/06/when_is_a_priest_not_a_priest_when_hes_molesting_a_child_diocese_says_in_defense_of_lawsuit.html

Maybe Ed Peters or Fr Z or Catholic Lawsuit Answers will wade in like good scribes to throw sand in all the lay people's eyes to keep the money/business coming their way.

Anonymous said...

Just all manner of fraudulence in Rome these days…

Anonymous said...

Oh boy, a francis blessing, where do I send my check!

JPeterman said...

I don't know anon 4:58 AM, is he? Is he Catholic?

Anonymous said...

Deacon Augustine, Your comment was super funny. But seriously your right!