UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter
Peter Feuerherd | Jan. 25, 2016
Sin and the Trinity.
These are two elementary points of Catholic theology in the work of Michael W. Ryan, a retired U.S. Postal security specialist, who has spent more than two decades alerting church authorities to fixing accounting lapses in parish collections.
First, sin.
Ryan has focused since 1988 on what he calls the point “between the collection basket and the bank deposit.” The resident of Milton, Mass., worked for the postal service in security, and knew from first-hand experience that, even with top-of-the-line procedures in place, there will be at least some postal employees tempted to embezzle.
“It only takes a second to scoop up a bunch of twenties,” warns Ryan.
There are parallels between the neighborhood post office and the local Catholic church. Both deal in cash payments. Both involve people with access to cash. But, says Ryan, “there is much more control over a postal clerk.”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.