It’s not often that the Catholic church tries to do something right. It’s so uncommon that when it happens, the cynical part of me wonders if there might be some ulterior motive behind it. For instance, the Diocese in California is trying to put a stop to fake priests who are tricking recent immigrants into paying thousands of dollars for “services” that would typically be either free or inexpensive.

Diocesan spokesperson Erin Haight told NBC News the bogus clerics “are charging these poor people thousands and thousands of dollars for things like health blessings for communions and confirmations.”

The church is learning lesson in humility, as the police have stated that only victims of the fraud can come forward. There is no legal way to distinguish between a destructive cult and an established religion, so it turns out that anyone that wears a crown of thorns can ask believers for whatever they want, and this kind of theft is totally legal.

Since so many of the victims are illegal immigrants, it’s almost assured that the perpetrators of these scams will continue to do so without resistance. Since they utilize the veneer of religion, they are practically untouchable. All the church can do is try to educate its flock to prevent them from being conned. The irony here is almost palpable.