TEXAS
San Antonio Express-News

By Lynn Brezosky
February 20, 2016

McALLEN — A greeter at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Peter Pranis straightens with pride when asked about the stately brick sanctuary, its bell tower rising above downtown and its panels of stained glass that soften the rays of the harsh South Texas sunlight.

But when asked about what allegedly happened in the basement of the church rectory 56 years ago, his tone flattens to a near whisper.

“People are very reluctant to talk about it,” Pranis said of the 1960 sexual assault and slaying of Irene Garza, a 25-year-old schoolteacher and former beauty queen who arrived at the church to say confession and was never seen again. “It is very raw.”

Earlier this month, long after many parishioners had lost hope of a resolution in the high-profile case, authorities in Arizona arrested a former priest and charged him…