Disgraced Alabama priest Alex Crow – who fled to Italy and then married a Catholic high school teenager months after he graduated – has been officially removed from the priesthood, the church announced.
“The Archdiocese of Mobile has received notice that the layoff of Alex Crow has been completed, effective immediately,” a statement prepared by Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi’s office read Friday.
Crow, 30, has asked to be dismissed from the priesthood, with the request “confirmed in a letter by our Holy Father, Pope Francis.”
Laicization — the process of dismissing a member of the clergy, which deprives a bishop, priest, or deacon of his duties as a figurehead of the catholic church — can be initiated after the service leader has been absent for more than six months, according to the church.
Disgraced Alabama pastor Alex Crow was officially removed from all his duties and privileges as a priest on Friday, the church confirmed. AL.com
“Before the six-month period expired, Crow began the process for his own conditioning, a move supported by the Archbishop,” the statement said.
As of Friday, Crow will no longer have any “priesthood privileges or responsibilities”.
The Chruch shared that Crow did not appeal the action during the process.
The now-disbanded priest and an 18-year-old graduate of McGill-Toolen High School, where Crow often served as a guest lecturer, fled to Italy in July 2023.
Their love affair came to light when law enforcement caught a love letter Crow sent the teenager on Valentine’s Day when she was still a student.
Rodi denounced Crow’s actions as “absolutely unfit to be a priest” and “he can no longer exercise his ministry as a priest, or tell people he is a priest, or dress as a priest.”
Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch told NBC 15 during the summer of 2023 he believed “there was some grooming done” by Crow, who was ordained in 2021.
Crow has asked to be removed from the priesthood, with the request “confirmed in a letter by our Holy Father, Pope Francis.” pole catholic
Burch noted that Crow, who had been in a rock band, was fascinated by demonology and told people he was going to Europe with the teenager to perform an exorcism.
After spending four months abroad, the couple returned to Mobile, Ala., where the disgraced 30-year-old pastor married the teenager, AL.com reported.
The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office and the Mobile County District Attorney’s Office conducted an ultimately futile investigation into possible wrongdoing by the former pastor.
The now-disbanded pastor and 18-year-old McGill-Toolen High School graduate met while Crow was serving as a regular guest lecturer. Facebook/McGILL-TOOLEN CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL The Vatican confirmed that Crow is not trying to appeal the decision. Copy Photo
District Attorney Keith Blackwood said the young woman met with prosecutors and refused to answer any questions before closing the investigation last November.
Although no crime can be pinned on Crow, in August 2023, the Archbishop of Mobile said, “he does not see a path back to the priesthood for Crow, given his disgraceful behavior.”
“I pray that this decision is another way that we can all move towards peace after this uncertain event. I continue to pray that God’s grace will bring healing to all,” said a Friday statement from the church.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
