OKLAHOMA
The Worthy Adversary
April 25, 2016 Joelle Casteix
What exactly does it take to get a priest removed?
What does it take to get OKC Archbishop Paul Coakley to warn parishioners about a priest’s past?
What does it take to get a religious community to stop minimizing a guilty plea to a sex crime?
Fr. Jose Alexis Davila has now been exposed across San Diego and the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City as the man who plead guilty to unlawful sexual touching and battery in 2012. He sexually assaulted a woman in his home.
What did Archbishop Paul Coakley do? Well, he:
* Admitted that parishioners were not informed of Davila’s past
* Said he did a complete background check … and therefore knew Davila was an offender
* Issued a statement that said the event took place in front of other people and was a cultural misunderstanding (It wasn’t …)
* Allowed his priests to minimize the crime
* Went back on all of the US Bishops’ promises of Zero Tolerance by unilaterally deciding that Davila was fit for ministry, and
* Treated parishioners like stooges, assuming that they don’t need to know that a sex offender is leading their parishes.
It’s appalling and criminal. Coakley should be ashamed and removed.
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