Priest Arrested In Murder For Hire Scheme

[Madeline]

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- 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.

San Antonio Archdiocese spokesman Pat Rodgers said Fiala has been removed from the public ministry, meaning he cannot present himself as a priest.

Authorities removed him in October 2008, before the accusations of sexual assault emerged, because of his interference with the custodial relationship between the teen in Rocksprings and his grandmother -- a case the sheriff's office investigated. Authorities have not disclosed the nature of Fiala's interference.

Rhodes said Fiala originally met the accuser in 2007 and was a frequent visitor at his grandparents' house, where the teen was living. He often came bearing gifts, including new a cell phone and MP3 player, and eventually gave the boy cash to help buy a car.
Fiala used the pretext of private catechism lessons to be alone with the boy, Rhodes said, and in 2008 took the teen to a youth event in the town of San Angelo, Texas, during which he raped him in a motel room at gunpoint.

"He's a dangerous predator and has been since at least 1988," Rhodes said. "The church has known how dangerous this guy is for many, many years. They had full knowledge, we believe, and the documents seem to bear that out -- that they knew what a bad person he was and what a danger he was to children."

Priest accused of soliciting hit man to kill teen alleging abuse | cleveland.com

How on earth did this man ever manage to become a priest in the first place?

I'm just gobsmacked.

 

[Sallow]

He's a priest.

No he's a deadly killing machine for hire.

Hey..he's both.

The Assassin Priest.

Coming to a theater near you.

Absolution was never so deadly.

 

[Freeman]

Would he be excommunicated by Vatican?

 

[Father Time]

He's a priest.

No he's a deadly killing machine for hire.

Hey..he's both.

The Assassin Priest.

Coming to a theater near you.

Absolution was never so deadly.

I'd buy a ticket.

 

[bigtalker]

the leaders of the catholic church only care about power and growing in numbers – it has nothing to do with connecting people with God but more their own agenda.

 

[amrchaos]

I can become a priest--and I am not Catholic.

Membership is not as exclusive as you may think!!