WORCESTER (MA)/HARTFORD (CT)
Telegram & Gazette
By Samantha Allen
Telegram & Gazette Staff
WORCESTER – A man facing charges in connection with the theft of skeletal remains from Hope Cemetery has been stripped of his title of Santeria priest.
The Cultural Association of African Religions Babalú Aye, a nonprofit organization in New York, said in a statement that Amador Medina’s membership has been revoked. Mr. Medina, 32, of Hartford, was charged this month with stealing remains from Hope Cemetery. He faces a hearing in Central District Court on Jan. 5 and has been ordered held on $100,000.
“By his own (alleged) actions, his membership has been cancelled for violating several points of the terms and conditions agreement that he signed to conserve his affiliation,” reads the statement from the association’s board of directors. “Practitioners and followers of the Yoruba Diaspora (of Santeria) fail to recognize the use of human bones in our religious practices for any reason.”
Mr. Medina told Hartford police, upon their discovery of five sets of human remains in his home, that he was a Babáloshá priest, of the Santeria faith; investigators found an identification card from the association, referred to as the ACRABA, according to Deputy Police Chief Brian J. Foley.
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