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Former Priest Accused of Sex Abuse of Minors Found Shot to Death

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A former priest accused of molesting minors was found dead Saturday morning in what police say they are investigating as a homicide.

On Saturday, police conducted a welfare check on John Capparelli — a former priest and teacher in New Jersey who moved to Henderson, Nevada — and found him dead in the kitchen with a gunshot wound to the neck. . .

Capparelli, NBC reports, is one of over 180 clergy listed last month by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark as having been “credibly accused” of sexually abusing minors during his time as a priest. . .

The sex abuse claims against Capparelli date back to the 1970s through the early 1990s. “Though he was never convicted of a crime, multiple accusers said Capparelli made them wrestle in swimwear while he took photos,” NJ.com noted in its report on his death. “He was also linked to a fetish website that he allegedly ran from his home.”

After being laicized, Capparelli went on to be a public school teacher in Newark for about two decades, NJ.com reports. He had his teaching certificates revoked after reports about the allegations surfaced. Capparelli made headlines in May 2014 after his presence at an event in Wayne, New Jersey resulted in the suspension of the pastor who allegedly invited him as a personal guest. (Read more from “Former Priest Accused of Sex Abuse of Minors Found Shot to Death” HERE)

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89-Year-Old Priest Beaten in Front of East Palo Alto Church, Suspect Pleads Not Guilty

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An elderly priest was assaulted with his own cane in the parking lot of an East Palo Alto church earlier this week by a suspected methamphetamine user.

Juan Perez, 41, approached 89-year-old priest John Coleman, who was walking with a metal cane in the parking lot of St. Francis De Assisi Church at 1425 Bay Road just before 10 p.m. Monday, according to the district attorney’s office.

Perez allegedly knocked the priest down, took his cane and beat him with it until it broke, prosecutors said. It appears he did not know the victim and there was no reason for the attack.

“I thought I was a goner. All of a sudden this man appeared right there, and very aggressive, yelling, he grabbed me,” Father Coleman said.

Bystander Jose de la Torre tried to stop the beating, but Perez allegedly hit him with the cane as well. He took off running and two brothers chased after him. (Read more from “89-Year-Old Priest Beaten in Front of East Palo Alto Church, Suspect Pleads Not Guilty” HERE)

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Transgendered Priest to Give Sermon at Washington National Cathedral (+video)

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Photo Credit: APThe most visible Episcopal church in the U.S. is hosting its first openly transgender priest this month.

The Rev. Cameron Partridge is set to give the June 22 sermon at the Washington National Cathedral in Northwest.

Dean of the cathedral, the Rev. Gary Hall, said in a statement that he hopes Mr. Partridge’s presence sends a message of support for the transgender community.

“We at Washington National Cathedral are striving to send a message of love and affirmation, especially to LGBT youth who suffer daily because of their gender identity or sexual orientation,” he said. “We want to proclaim to them as proudly and unequivocally as we can: Your gender identity is good and your sexual orientation is good because that’s the way that God made you.”

The General Convention of the Episcopal Church in 2012 approved the ordination of transgender persons. The convention also approved a rite of blessing for same-sex unions, a decision that’s been a major contributor to the fracturing of Episcopal congregations. The cathedral performs same-sex marriages.

Read more from this story HERE.

Coroner: Priest Beaten to Death with Stake, Pipe

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Photo Credit: Jim, the Photographer

Photo Credit: Jim, the Photographer

A beloved priest who was killed in the Northern California city of Eureka was beaten to death with a wooden stake and a metal gutter pipe, his autopsy shows.

Humboldt County Coroner Dave Parris said Monday that investigators don’t want to release more details of how the Rev. Eric Freed was beaten, pending further investigation.

But at his arraignment, Gary Lee Bullock, 44, of Humboldt County, was charged with murder with a special allegation of torture. He is also charged with burglary, arson and auto theft.

Read more from this story HERE.

The Priest Who Faced Down the Federal Government—and Won

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Photo Credit: Nancy Reynolds for The Star-Ledger

Photo Credit: Nancy Reynolds for The Star-Ledger

The Rev. Ray Leonard knew not to wear the clerical collar identifying him as a Roman Catholic priest. It almost certainly would have gotten him deported.

He knew not to celebrate Mass, hear confession or baptize a child. The acts might have resulted in harassment—or worse, arrest and imprisonment—for the families Leonard cared about.

During a decade spent teaching and helping the needy in some of China’s most impoverished and oppressed regions, the New Jersey priest learned what it was like to live in a land without religious freedom.

It kindled a greater appreciation for his liberties at home. Which is why Leonard, 51, bristled at the U.S. government when it told him he couldn’t hold services at a Georgia naval base during October’s government shutdown. Leonard, a civilian contractor on the base, wasn’t deemed an “essential” employee.

In a case that made headlines across the country, Leonard filed suit against the Department of Defense, contending the directive violated his freedom of speech and his right to religious expression.

Read more from this story HERE.

Federal Indictment Alleges Kinky Priest Who Sold Meth

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Sex toys, ruby red slippers, drug paraphernalia, and a Roman collar!

Those all were to be elements of The Land of Oz & Dorothy’s Place, a combination adult novelty shop that Monsignor Kevin Wallin apparently planned to take over and move to a new location after he was suspended from his Bridgeport, Conn., parish amid reports of him cross-dressing and having sex in the rectory.

Add methamphetamine to the list, according to the government, which alleges that the 61-year-old cleric now dubbed “Monsignor Meth” used the store to launder proceeds from a transcontinental drug enterprise.

That charge is in a criminal complaint federal prosecutors filed after Wallin was arrested on Jan. 3. He had been just hours from departing on a 12-day trip London, imparting to his latest flock a new sense of needing a priest.

“Oh no 12 days what am I going to do. No supplys lol,” a customer had texted Wallin in a message intercepted by the government.

Read more from this story HERE.