Saturday, July 21, 2007

Stolen Collection Receipts

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette has a story about someone breaking into Mt Lebanon Parish in Pittsburgh and making off with the collection money from Sunday.


Collection receipts stolen from Mt. Lebanon church

Thursday, July 12, 2007
By Laura Pace, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Sometime between 12:30 p.m. Sunday and 8:30 a.m. Monday, someone stole the weekend collection receipts from St. Bernard Roman Catholic Church in Mt. Lebanon.

Mt. Lebanon Police do not have an amount taken. Lt. Ken Truver said there was no sign of forced entry and police have no suspects. The investigation is continuing.



And from the Pittsburgh Tribune:

Collection bag pilfered from Mt. Lebanon church
By Craig Smith
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, July 13, 2007

Sometime between 12:30 p.m. Sunday and 8:30 a.m. Monday, someone stole the weekend collection receipts from St. Bernard Roman Catholic Church in Mt. Lebanon.

Mt. Lebanon Police do not have an amount taken. Lt. Ken Truver said there was no sign of forced entry and police have no suspects. The investigation is continuing.
These kinds of thefts are not common, church officials and police said.

"They are rare in the diocese," said the Rev. Ron Lengwin, spokesman for the Pittsburgh diocese.

Driesch, the church's pastor, could not be reached for comment. A man who would not give his name, but identified himself as the church office manager, said Driesch was out of town until today.

About 3,000 people attend the six Masses held each Sunday in the church that was founded in 1919, church officials said.

Truver would not say how much money was missing or if video surveillance cameras were in use.

In February, St. Mary's in Cecil was burglarized, Lengwin said.

Nothing was taken, and no one was apprehended, said Mary Ann Bills, parish secretary. Collection monies at St. Mary's are deposited immediately following the Mass.

St. Bernard Parish was founded to serve the communities of Dormont and Mt. Lebanon and includes 10,000 members, its Web site said.

Anyone with information about the theft can call Mt. Lebanon police investigators at 412-343-4095.

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