A marriage swindler is caught after 14 marriages – and a Catholic priest stumbles over the word “we”
It is said again and again that the world would be a better place if people talked more about “we” and less about “I”. But those who prefer the community of the willing to the competition of the self-centered must be very strong in view of the following message in order not to fall from the faith. Recently, for example, it was revealed that in a Catholic parish in Phoenix, Arizona, thousands of baptisms may be invalid because the priest used the wrong baptismal formula. As various US media reported, Father Andres Arango used the plural instead of the singular and said “We baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. “I baptize you” would have been correct.
The Brazilian priest left office in early February, and Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted has since explained why the ‘we’ is inadmissible: ‘The point is that it is not the congregation that baptizes a person, but rather Christ , and Christ alone, who presides over all the sacraments.” He does not believe that the Father acted with malicious intent, but it is the case that if baptism is invalid, other sacraments such as Communion, Confirmation and even marriages could also be invalidated , since baptism is the first of the so-called sacraments of initiation.
It is still unclear how many people were baptized with the wrong formula, but there are said to be thousands. Father Arango wrote that he deeply regrets his “mistake” and now wants to do everything in his power to repair the damage.
A man from India , who has sealed the bond of life with at least 14 women since the 1980s, is not at all remorseful – but without telling the current bride that she is not the only one. Which in turn is not surprising when you know that the Indian Casanova was not concerned with the inner values, but only with the values that they kept in accounts and in safes. The man who was arrested earlier this week is said to have coaxed several hundred thousand euros from the women of his choice. According to the police in New Delhi, the marriage swindler “contacted his victims via online marriage agencies and social networks, posing as a doctor and a high-ranking employee of the Ministry of Health”. He targeted well-educated, middle-aged and divorced women in higher positions, such as a court attorney or a high-ranking officer in the armed police force . They were looking for emotional security, it said.
How the gallant was able to capitalize on this is not clear from the police report. The only thing that is certain is that he always left his brides alone a few days after the wedding, pointing out that he had been transferred at short notice. It is also surprising that the man, whose age is “unclear” according to the police, had already been arrested in 2011 for “other money fraud cases”. Apparently it helped him that he had adopted an identity at the time that would allow him to get out of the affair unscathed. It was his undoing that his last wife got wind of the other marriages and went to the police.
She took care of the matter: Because even if a marriage in India can be concluded in a religious ceremony and does not necessarily have to be sealed by the registry office, it still applies that most people are only allowed to marry a person of the opposite sex. At least that’s what the report about the imposter says. Which, strictly speaking, would mean that those who do not feel part of the “most” group can marry as many people of their own sex as they want. Or is that total nonsense?
Be that as it may, since this is a very fine line that the bride and groom are treading with this interpretation, it is advisable to place the ceremony in the hands of a clergyman who uses an incorrect formula, so that the whole thing can be discussed later can declare null and void should anyone object to the marriage. At least one priest is known to have no appointments until further notice. Boris Halva
