Convicted For Cash: An American Grand Scam

 The following article can be found here.

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Frank X. Panico and Xs in the Sky Films present “Convicted for Cash: An American Grand Scam,” a film about a Catholic priest falsely accused and imprisoned for life.

June 21, 2023 by Frank X. Panico and X

in the Sky Films

Editor’s Note: This is our first “video post” at Beyond These Stone Walls. This 44-minute documentary film was created by Frank X. Panico, an award-winning short filmmaker whose work has been featured on EWTN, NewsMax, Salem Now and multiple other venues. Here is Frank X. Panico:

“Take no part in unfruitful works of darkness, but expose them.”

— Ephesians 5:11

I created this short documentary film because I believe that railroading, convicting and imprisoning a Catholic priest through lies and deceitful tactics is an unfruitful work of darkness. The railroaded Catholic priest I refer to is Father Gordon MacRae. This documentary film is entitled “Convicted for Cash: An American Grand Scam.” It exposes the plight of a man of God wrongfully imprisoned.

When I learned of this true story, it drew me in. I have known Fr Gordon MacRae for less than a year, but after researching this story I feel that I have known him forever. I have studied every detail, and I have never personally vetted a subject of my films so extensively. There were many credible sources before me: The Wall Street Journal, the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, The Media Report, The Catholic World Report, all bravely taking up the case of this wrongfully imprisoned priest against an avaricious tide of Catholic scandal and media coverage.

During production of this film, I often felt as though unseen spiritual warfare was in play. The evil one and his minions would have liked nothing more than for me to abandon this cause. I rejected such thoughts and came to know the truth. Father MacRae is an innocent man and the victim of a sham trial. I felt called to help someone who was absolutely falsely accused through a rogue communist-like legal system.

Don’t get me wrong. This is not the only reason I produced this film. I also found its subject matter to be intriguing and marketable. Not long after Tucker Carlson aired footage from the January 6th affair, an innocent prisoner caught in its net was released from prison just days later. I pray for the same result that this innocent man might be freed.

I am immensely pleased with the documentary, “Convicted for Cash.” Salem Now has picked it up so obviously they were pleased with it as well. As a daily communicant, I continue to pray at Mass for the well being and release of Fr. Gordon MacRae, a brother in Christ. Please view and then share Convicted for Cash by clicking on the link or the image below.

Who Is Frank X. Panico?

A native of Queens, New York, Frank X. Panico moved to Hollywood at age 24 to pursue a film industry career where he studied under the tutelage of Michael C. Conley, of the California Scholastic Press. Skilled in the art of Feature Film Screenplay Writing, Frank earned a position as Assistant to Gary Roberts, Executive Vice President of 20th Century Fox Films Legal Group. In 2005, Frank relocated to Florida where he founded his own production company, Xs is the Sky Films. Frank Panico’s films have been featured or distributed by EWTN, Pureflix, Right Side Broadcasting Network, Christian Cinema, Amazon Plus, Amazon Prime, Salem Now, Epoch TV, and the One America News Network.

Frank’s first film, Lambs Among Wolves, received a nomination at the Treasure Coast International Film Festival. His second, A Different Kind of Church, earned distribution on Amazon Prime and Christian Cinema. In 2017, Frank Panico’s powerful biopic, My Friend Raymond, was nominated for two awards including “Most inspirational Documentary” for which it won the category at the International Christian Film Festival. It also won awards for “Best Local Film” and “Most Inspirational Film” at the Fort Myers Film Festival and “Outstanding Faith-based Film” at the FAM Film Festival and the Cherub Film Festival.

In 2020, Frank completed work on Leaders for Life featuring interviews with movie legends Kevin and Sam Sorbo, Executive Producers of the film. In 2021, Kevin and Sam produced Frank’s groundbreaking film, Systematic Deception, aired by NewsMax and One America News. Currently, Frank Panico is promoting his Feature Film Screenplays, Stoneflower and Jaws of Justice, and three more recent documentaries, Unabashed, Crushed by the Woman, and Trans Wreck. We thank Frank Panico for his work on Convicted for Cash.

The Wall Street Journal’s Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Dorothy Rabinowitz on the Father MacRae case

NOTE — NEWLY DISCOVERED EVIDENCE: In 2022, after Father MacRae had served 29 years in prison, compelling exculpatory evidenced surfaced. It turns out that former Keene, NH sex-crimes Detective James F. McLaughlin was censured for “falsification of records” in another case four years before MacRae went to trial. Previous Supreme Court rulings required that this be revealed to defendant MacRae and his legal counsel before trial. Instead, it was kept hidden. Since then, a Court has secretly sealed McLaughlin’s police file from further discovery. Nonetheless, news reports in New Hampshire reveal that the detective had a long history of police misconduct including allegations of falsifying evidence, threatening witnesses, tampering with tape recordings, selective investigation, and lying under oath. He briefly appeared on a list of dishonest police that is now also under judicial seal in New Hampshire.

Another Jungle Falsehood

 Tim Rohr has never been to any of our Easter Vigils even when Bishop Apuron was Archbishop of Agana. This is why one should never listen to Rohr. According to Rohr:

As noted in my initial post, while the NCW has "been saying all along that we are allowed to celebrate the Easter Vigil in small groups," the fact is that it - the NCW in Guam - doesn't. And it didn't even before Fr. Romy's recent directive. Instead, the NCW in Guam has historically gathered all the communities together for a single "large-group" celebration of the Paschal Vigil, albeit in their own unconsecrated space. 

During Apuron’s time, we did celebrate the Easter Vigil in small groups. The Barrigada communities celebrated the Easter Vigil together on their own. Chalan Pago Communities celebrated the Easter Vigil on its own. The Agana communities and Tamuning communities also held their own celebrations. We were not together as one single large group. At that time, there were enough RMS priests to celebrate the Easter Vigil in small groups.

It was during Archbishop Byrnes’ time that the NCW celebrated the Easter Vigil as one single large group. Why? Because at that time, we no longer had enough RMS priests to hold small group celebrations. Why? Because Archbishop Michael claimed that Guam does not need RMS priests, so many of them were rejected, and they found new Bishops who took them in. According to the Pacific Daily News:

"The main reason for closing the seminary is that it is just not a sustainable model for the Archdiocese of Agana," he said, adding that the RMS model envisions a type and formation of priesthood that works in a place like Denver or Miami, for example, where there are millions of Catholics.

 The reason this blog is called, “Neocatechumenal Way, Insider’s View” is because this blog belongs to a member of the NCW who has been walking since 2007. I am that member. As a member, I can blog about my own experiences in the Way. Rohr, on the other hand, cannot. Therefore, when Rohr said that the NCW in Guam has historically celebrated the Easter Vigil as one large group with all the communities present, this is false. It is a false and incorrect statement from Rohr. I was walking since 2007. I was there when we celebrated in small groups. 

Furthermore, Rohr stated:

So The Diana says that because the Dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is not found explicitly in Scripture then neither do the practices of the NCW have to be found explicitly in its Statutes. (Note: See how The Diana equates the NCW Statute with Dogma, the Dogma of the Assumption!)

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary officially became a dogma in 1950 by Pope Pius XII. Before 1950, the Assumption of our Blessed Mother was a TRADITION…. Yes, that is correct….a TRADITION practiced and passed down by Catholics throughout the generations. The Catholic Church has always followed the Apostolic Traditions (which were practices passed on), Sacred Scripture, and the teaching Magisterium of the Church. 

Likewise, the NCW continued to practice its TRADITION before the approval of the Statutes. Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI were fully aware of these practices because they also participated in those traditional practices. See the story here. 

There were only a few minor changes made to the NCW traditional practices AFTER the Statutes were approved. For example, one of those changes made was the way we were to receive Holy Communion. Previously, the members would receive the Body of Christ sitting down. After the approval of the Statutes, we started receiving the Body of Christ standing. Everything else that were NOT mentioned in the Statutes remained the same and continued to be traditionally practiced. 

Scott Hahn once said that if you want to find the truth, go straight to the horse’s mouth to find it. Scott Hahn became a Catholic because he found out the truth by going through the written works of the Church Fathers and Early Christians, who were all Catholics. He did not turn to any anti-Catholic website. In the same way, if one wants to learn the truth of the NCW, then speak to the members who are currently walking in the Way. That is plain simple common sense.

 

A Matter of Interpretation

It was brought to my attention that Tim Rohr was using my posts to mislead people. According to  Rohr (the bold is mine):

Diana goes on to copy a portion of an article from Crux and emphasizes the following:

An exception exists for “national churches,” like the U.S. Catholic community at St. Patrick Church in Rome, and for members of the Neocatechumenal Way, whose Vatican-approved statutes allow for small-group celebrations of the Easter vigil.

Sounds pretty authoritative, coming from Rome and all. However, the excerpt is from a document distributed by the "episcopal council of the Rome diocese" to the Rome diocese, which is why "the U.S. Catholic Community...in Rome" is mentioned.

Rohr misleads people by focusing that the letter was to the Rome Diocese. However, what I placed in bold clearly showed that the Statutes of the Neocatecumenal Way allowed for small-group celebrations of the Easter Vigil. Does Tim Rohr think that the NCW in Rome have a DIFFERENT approved Statutes? Rome was referring to the Statutes that all NCW worldwide have.  Rohr goes on to say: 

Meanwhile, the episcopal council of Rome appears not to have read the NCW Statutes which say nothing about "small-group celebrations of the Easter vigil." 

 So what? Nowhere in Scripture does it mention the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. So, where did we get this teaching? Well, certainly not from Tim Rohr. We got this from the Holy See...the Vatican. Tim Rohr is simply taking a stance that all Protestants use against the Catholic Church. Who is Tim Rohr to dictate what should be and should not be in the approved Statutes?

In the same way, just because one does not see "small-group celebrations of the Easter Vigil" in the Statutes does not mean that we should not celebrate it in small groups. The NCW have been saying all along that we are allowed to celebrate the Easter Vigil in small groups, and it was that document from the Episcopal Council of the Rome Diocese who interpreted the approved Statutes in that way. So, why should one listen to Tim Rohr? The NCW received its instruction and interpretation from the Holy See since the approval of its Statutes. And the NCW recognize only Pope Francis...not pope Tim.

To Anonymous Poster Who Posted on June 5th

 I will not publish your comment under one of my previous post posted a few years ago because it is a hateful comment. Do not condemned someone to Hell, especially when it is a known fact that the two brothers have repented. They also served their time in prison and have not committed any crimes after that. Please be civil when posting under this blog.