The following comes from a February 4 Catholic News Agency article by Mary Rezac. For previous CalCatholic stories on Erwin Mena, click here and here.
For months, Erwin Mena donned vestments, called himself “Padre,” and convinced Southern California Catholics that he was a priest, police say.
He was good at it, too, reportedly. He attended seminary in El Salvador for a time years ago before dropping out, so he was able to convincingly officiate Masses, funerals, and even at least one wedding. He had a likeable personality and said all the right things.
“There were people who thought he was a great priest, that they really liked him, he looked like a priest, he walked like a priest, he could talk like a priest all the way to the very end,” LAPD Det. Gary Guevara said.
But Mena couldn’t fool what Guevara called the “professional Church ladies.” It was a feast day with particular Mass parts, and Mena just wasn’t getting it right, he said.
“It was a complicated Mass that some of the real professional church ladies have memorized, and literally the jig was all up,” Guevara said.
“He was screwing up and everybody was like, what’s going on here?”
Within hours, phone calls were being made, and the archdiocese was officially alerted of Mena’s suspicious activities. Soon after, the archdiocese reported him to the police.
Pretty funny story: the professional con-man tripped up by “professional church ladies” who knew their stuff…And thankfully weren’t cowed by a false “sense-of-respect” for a fake cleric spinning his con-web.
Like most criminals, this guy doesn’t seem too bright. My admittedly limited, non-clerical experience with the GIRM is that it has detail instructions on exactly what to do and prayers to say. But, I’ve seen experienced, official priests ‘blow’ parts of a standard Sunday Mass.
Most Catholics never questioned their Clergy (or even Lay employees) in matters ‘religious’. Such deference often extend to other areas where Priests had little experience – like Finances, Employment…
The magnitude of nightmares from the Homosex Ephebophile Abuse cult that infiltrated the Church – led a lot of Catholics to realize We contributed to the problem by being lax in Our Duties of Oversight.
Hence the rule on Oversight going forward is: ‘Fool me once, shame on you – Fool me twice, shame on Me.”
SEE
New York priest accused of looting parish funds to fuel drug-crazed sex parties with gay prostitute
https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/archdiocese-of-ny-and-cdl.-dolan-sued-over-homosexual-priest-stealing-milli
How could this have happened? Please explain to us Archbishop Gomez. Also, have you removed the pastor of every Catholic parish in which this fraud was allowed to pose as a priest?
It is good that this man was caught. But I cannot understand how this could have possibly happened! In most dioceses, a priest cannot simply walk into a church, and offer his priestly services! He has many restrictions! Especially if he is unknown, and not incardinated into a diocese! It is good that this fraudulent priest got caught! I also hope any priests guilty of child sex abuse, will quickly get caught!