This is an interesting quandary for officials of the Catholic Church. Now, "fake priests" can often be hired to solemnize weddings. If the couple is unhappy wi

This is an interesting quandary for officials of the Catholic Church. Now, "fake priests" can often be hired to solemnize weddings. If the couple is unhappy with the way their legitimate Catholic parish is handling things (9 months prep is too long, too expensive, won't let them sing "Imagine", requires bridesmaids to cover their shoulders, won't do ceremony on the beach) then the couple can easily contact an "independent" Catholic priest who has all the bona fides (or not; such priests may have been laicized or excommunicated) and who will happily accommodate their every need, for a price. This, however, may not confer the legitimate Catholic marriage that they were hoping for. Because Catholics are required to observe "proper form" which means we must marry in the context of a Mass, or get a dispensation. So if the priest won't observe canonical form, the couple ends up with an invalid wedding, which means they aren't married at all, but cohabiting. However, if the priest does observe canonical form, it is possible that the couple does validly marry, because the priest is merely a witness to the marriage: the couple are the actual ministers of the sacrament when they freely exchange consent. So, there are possibilities when it comes to marriage. However, a "fake priest" cannot validly absolve people of their sins in any case. The reason is that absolution (forgiveness in the confessional) requires jurisdiction. Jurisdiction is conferred by the bishop of a place and priests carry a celebret indicating that they hold faculties to do such things as celebrate Mass, preach homilies, hear confessions, perform baptisms, etc. A priest without jurisdiction is definitely faking confessions. If the priest is laicized, or excommunicated, or schismatic, or simply visiting another territory and hasn't procured faculties from the ordinary, he lacks jurisdiction. I am betting that their "fake priest" was or is a Catholic priest of some kind, but possibly schismatic or laicized. It would've probably been someone who knew all the right words and actions that could've put on a convincing act for these workers (I assume they were probably mostly Latino Catholics here and that's why they were scammed in this manner.) I am glad that the Diocese of Sacramento has promptly released a statement disavowing knowledge; that's doing the right thing. Oh yeah, and if you want a "fake priest" to baptize your baby, that will totally work. Because, actually, anyone and everyone can baptize. You don't need a priest or a deacon, except that they know the right words. Even an atheist or a pagan could baptize someone. That's what is unique about this sacrament.