OHIO
National Catholic Reporter
Brian Roewe | Jul. 9, 2014
The funeral Mass for a Toledo priest convicted of murdering a religious sister will follow “usual protocol for a diocesan priest’s funeral,” according to the Ohio diocese.
Fr. Gerald Robinson, 76, died Friday at a prison medical facility in Columbus. The Toledo Blade reported he was receiving treatment for heart troubles and had suffered a heart attack around Memorial Day.
In 2006, Robinson was found guilty of the 1980 Holy Saturday murder of Mercy Sr. Margaret Ann Pahl, who was strangled and stabbed 32 times before being covered with an altar cloth in what some deemed a satanic ritual. It was reported that Robinson presided at Pahl’s funeral Mass.
Robinson, who was serving 15 years to life in prison, maintained his innocence up to his death, which preceded a completion of the appeals process. While the appeals continued, he remained a diocesan priest but was restricted from public ministry.
Details about the time and location of Robinson’s funeral have yet to be released, but the Toledo diocese said it anticipates the family will do so Wednesday afternoon. Fr. Charles Ritter, diocesan administrator, is expected to celebrate the funeral Mass, which is open to the public but closed to the media.
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