Priest Guilty of Angel Fund Theft to Be Sentenced Monday
By Patricia Montemurri
The Rev. Timothy Kane, a Catholic priest convicted of embezzling money from the Angel Fund charity for Detroit's poor, will be sentenced Monday by Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Bruce Morrow. Kane, 58, who was convicted in October of six felony counts related to defrauding the Archdiocesan inner-city charitable program, was to be sentenced Friday. But the judge adjourned the proceedings until Monday. In February, Kane was removed as pastor of St. Moses the Black Parish in Detroit, which encompassed the formerly named Madonna, St. Benedict and St Gregory churches. Last month, the parish bulletin included a notice of how to send character references to the judge determining Kane's sentence. The notice was placed in the bulletin by the Detroit Catholic Pastoral Alliance, a non-profit organization whose members promote urban community redevelopment and outreach programs. "Fr. Tim is a friend and everyone knows him to be a kind and generous man who has helped many, many people. Now he needs our help. Please send a letter that tells about a side of Tim's character that did not come out at the trial nor in the newspaper accounts of his conviction," said the notice. "The letter should not dispute the conviction, but should show overwhelmingly that there is another side to this serious issue." Sister Cathey DeSantis, the alliance's executive director, declined to comment. Also declining to comment was Steven Scharg, the defense attorney for Kane, who has maintained his innocence. Archdiocese of Detroit spokesman Joe Kohn said the archdiocese did not submit any comment or letter concerning Kane's sentencing, and did not object to the bulletin announcement about letters for Kane's sentencing. A churchgoer sent a copy of the bulletin notice to the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), according to David Clohessy, a SNAP spokesman who said the showing of support for Kane can discourage others who suspect clergy wrongdoing from coming forward. "This is one reason why many victims, witnesses and whistle blowers who see, suspect or suffer clergy crimes or misdeeds stay silent: because they fear parishioners will strongly stand with the problem priests - no matter how clear or egregious their wrongdoing - and will shun those who expose that wrongdoing," Clohessy said in a statement. Michigan law does not require the public disclosure of character letters sent to judges for sentencing purposes. Judge Morrow declined to make the letters he's received about Kane available to a reporter. Kane's crimes call for sentences up to 20 years, but his sentence is expected to fall below the upper limits. He was convicted of conspiracy to operate a criminal enterprise, using a computer to commit a crime, both up to 20 years in prison; uttering and publishing, and conspiracy to commit uttering and publishing, both up to 14 years; embezzlement between $1,000 and $20,000, and conspiracy to embezzle between $1,000 and $20,000, both 10-year felonies. Prosecutors told the jury that Kane skimmed money for himself from the Angel Fund charity by conspiring with a state prison inmate, who recruited people to make false requests for aid which Kane then approved. The Angel Fund has disbursed $17 million since 2005 from funds donated by an anonymous individual. The fund was designed to allow priests at Detroit churches to dispense aid quickly to people who needed help filling a prescription or making a mortgage payment. After Kane was charged, the Angel Fund donor discontinued the fund.
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