A Catholic priest from a rural parish west of San Antonio is accused in a lawsuit filed Thursday of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy at gunpoint and during private catechism sessions two years ago.
The suit, which names outgoing Archbishop José Gomez as a defendant and claims he sought to conceal the matter, comes three days after the Vatican named Gomez as the next archbishop in Los Angeles.
He is transferring to California next month. Gomez said recently through a spokesman that his five-year tenure involved no new sex-abuse allegations.
The suit claims that Father John M. Fiala repeatedly assaulted the youth from January to August 2008 while Fiala was working as administrator at Sacred Heart of Mary in Rocksprings.
Archbishop José Gomez takes up his office in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Los Angeles under a cloud of litigation.
Besides which, he is a member of Opus Dei, which some say is a cult. I'm inclined to agree.
H/T to Andrew Sullivan at The Daily Dish.
sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy at gunpoint and during private catechism sessions
ReplyDelete.....?????
It's hard to see how molesting a teenager in itself could be made any worse, but this priest has managed it. How could a priest even think of using a gun?
Texas, Cathy.
ReplyDeleteDammit, Lapin, you stole my line. I had to delete.
ReplyDeleteIn Texas, even God packs heat.
ReplyDeleteFlaming liberal sissy boy me went skeet shooting in his Texas childhood.
Counterlight! Out of the closet as a gun-crazy Texan!
ReplyDeleteI somehow forgot to read that bit of the Bible where God made special dispensation for Texas.
ReplyDeleteOh, but he did, Cathy, and if you don't believe it, just ask any Texan.
ReplyDeleteOh, but he did, Cathy, and if you don't believe it, just ask any Texan.
ReplyDeleteIt's OK, BooCat, I don't need to ask - I've seen the evidence, in fact it used to run the country.
And here I thought I would be called out for being flippant about a deadly serious topic.
ReplyDeleteWe were neck and neck there, weren't we?
You laugh, or you cry, Lapin. Of course, the topic is deadly serious and no laughing matter.
ReplyDeleteSt Peter fainted
ReplyDeleteApart from the shoot 'em up Texas comment references (I lived over 20 years in Houston), this is what I find crazy:
ReplyDelete"Gomez said recently through a spokesman that ."
As if!
Oops for some reason my quote was not complete in the above comment by me. "Gomez said recently through a spokesman that his five-year tenure involved no new sex-abuse allegations."
ReplyDeleteThere! As if....
When the Pope visited Sydney for World Youth Day he spent the first 3 days recuperating from the flight at a Centre run by Opus Dei.
ReplyDeleteI feel sorry for L. A. I wonder how long Gomez will last?
ReplyDeleteWhen the Pope visited Sydney for World Youth Day he spent the first 3 days recuperating from the flight at a Centre run by Opus Dei
ReplyDeleteI think most Aussies would have seen needing three days as pretty wimpy, frankly.
I know that's not your point, BrianR!
I'm 75 years old, and I think needing three days to recuperate is a rather long rest period, but perhaps the pope has health problems that we don't know about. In that case, he should have his rest, but, in that case, the health problems should not be kept secret, either.
ReplyDelete