Posted on 11/23/2010 7:34:51 PM PST by marshmallow
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — In a murder-for-hire case worthy of a Dan Brown novel, a Roman Catholic priest has been arrested on charges that he solicited a hit man to kill a teenager who had accused him of sexual abuse.
Authorities said John Fiala first offered the job to a neighbor, who blew the whistle and helped police arrange a sting. They said Fiala got as far as negotiating a $5,000 price for the slaying before investigators moved in.
The 52-year-old clergyman was arrested Nov. 18 at his suburban Dallas home and jailed on $700,000 bond. In April, he was named in a lawsuit filed by the boy's family, who accused Fiala of molesting the youth, including twice forcing him to have sex at gunpoint.
The abuse allegedly took place in 2007 and 2008, when Fiala was a priest at the Sacred Heart of Mary Parish in the West Texas community of Rocksprings, a rural enclave known for sheep and goat herding.
The family's lawsuit also named the Archdiocese of San Antonio and Archbishop Jose Gomez, alleging that church leadership should have known Fiala was abusive.
The suit was filed just a month before Gomez was introduced as the new incoming leader of the Los Angeles Archdiocese. He is currently serving as an assistant to Cardinal Roger Mahony, who will retire next year. Gomez then automatically becomes archbishop.
The allegations against Fiala seemed like they could have formed a plotline for Brown, who wrote "The Da Vinci Code" and other religiously themed thrillers. But the accuser's attorney said they hit too close to home.
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
What sort of neighbors does this guy have? Does he live next door to the Mafia or something? Who the heck chats to their neighbors about contract killings?
Great job, Father! Sex abuse and solicitation of murder. A two-fer!
This guy is a complete flatliner. Not the slightest glimmer of any sort of moral conscience.
And yet...he will remain a priest until he dies. Right? Performing the Sacrifice of the Mass, doing his duty with confession, retaining or remitting sins and giving penance.
Which brings me to another question? Who does HE confess to? And who remits these sins?
What do the first two words of the headline say?
I just thought, for once, I would go with what the Catholic Church SAYS.
That is the point relevant to this case.
Do you wish to start a broader discussion pertaining to the nature of the sacrament of Holy Orders?
Not being argumentative here, I would appreciate an answer.
An ordained priest can be laicized which means that, not only has he lost his faculties to administer the Sacraments, he is no longer a priest. He is, in effect, a layman.
He served at these parishes in the Archdiocese of Omaha from 1984 to 1996: St. Columbkille, Papillion; Sacred Heart, Norfolk; St. Joan of Arc, St. Peter and Christ the King, all Omaha; St. Mary, Spencer; and St. Joseph, Wisner. He surprised St. Joseph parishioners when he departed that church suddenly.
Fiala was removed from ministry in the fall of 2008 and has not been reassigned, according to the Archdiocese of Omaha.
My grandson & his cousins attended St Columbkille. My best friends’ daughter teaches there. There was apparently a problem with him. He was moved around so much. I hope to God we don't find out they knew he was a problem and was just passing him on. I left the Catholic church a long time ago, but I have friends who are Catholic but are mad at what happened in the past. If we find out they were passing him off rather than calling the police, a lot of people will leave the church. If we can't trust the church to protect our kids and do the right thing, then anyone who stays, loves the "catholic church" (and I'm not talking about God) more than they love their kids.
OK, this is news to me. THen why doesn’t the RCC remove all the priests who have committed sexual abuse against children? Why move them around?
[Is it true, once a priest, always a priest?] Yes, it is true. These men, even though they are outside of the RCC, they are still priests. This is because the RCC believes and teaches that ordination (Holy Orders) is one of the seven Sacraments. When a man is ordained an indelible mark is placed on his soul. He is thus forever consecrated to service of God. Of the seven Sacraments, only two, Baptism and Holy Orders are permanent, leaving an indelible mark on the soul and they can be received only once. Also, neither can ever be undone or invalidated. Even the Pope has not the power to undo a valid Baptism or Ordination, nor can an individual by rejecting his Baptism or Ordination ever undo the permanency of his Baptism or Ordination, nor does one's moral depravity, no matter how disgusting invalidate these two sacraments. This is the sacramental aspect of the priesthood.
-- pipeorganman, August 13 2006
on the thread Rent-A-Priest [NOT SATIRE]
Thank you Alex. I KNEW they were priests forever. But, once again, here we go again. Yes they are...no they aren’t...
"How is it he can be removed"? Quite simply. The Church in the person of his Bishop can deny him faculties. He can be suspended from ministry, or in an extreme case, he can be completely discharged from the exercise of the functions proper to the ordained state. The latter is sometimes colloquially called "defrocking" or "laiciziation".
Why are other priests not removed? I'm not sure of whom you're referring to but it is at the discretion of the Church and would depend on the particular circumstances and clergy in question.
Can a defrocked priest perform last rites, in an emergency?
There's no deception involved. From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
#1582As in the case of Baptism and Confirmation this share in Christ's office is granted once for all. The sacrament of Holy Orders, like the other two, confers an indelible spiritual character and cannot be repeated or conferred temporarily.
#1583 It is true that someone validly ordained can, for grave reasons, be discharged from the obligations and functions linked to ordination, or can be forbidden to exercise them; but he cannot become a layman again in the strict sense,75 because the character imprinted by ordination is for ever. The vocation and mission received on the day of his ordination mark him permanently.
Anything else?
Yes. Can a defrocked priest perform last rites, in an emergency?
You wrote:
“How is it he can be removed from public ministry, but other priests who have sexually abused children are not removed?”
Actually all priests who are even accused of sexual abuse of children are removed from public ministry pending the outcome of the investigation.
Father, why would you sleep with teen boys out there? The old joke to the contrary, sheep don’t talk.
So they cannot perform the Sacrifice of the Mass, confession, etc.?
Uh, no. Did you read the story? You didn’t read the headline. Thanks for playing.
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