BAKERSFIELD (CA)
Modesto Bee
By ADAM ASHTON
MERCED SUN-STAR
Last Updated: June 14, 2005, 06:13:52 AM PDT
A Merced priest who was ousted from his parish 11 months ago stepped away from a new post at a Bakersfield church because he fears he would disrupt that community, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno said.
The Rev. Jean-Michael Lastiri, dogged by allegations of financial and sexual impropriety, reportedly told Fresno Bishop John T. Steinbock he did not want the new assignment at Bakersfield's St. Philip the Apostle Church.
"Because of the ferment and division his appointment is causing in the area, Father Lastiri himself has asked me not to be sent to St. Philip's. He does not want to be the cause of division and condemnation in the parish," Steinbock wrote in a letter to Bakersfield parishioners.
Steinbock unseated Lastiri from his parish last July when the priest admitted he had indulged in sexual fantasies over the Internet.
A group of parishioners initiated his removal by disclosing a series of computer messages they found showing Lastiri allegedly seeking adult male sexual partners on vacations and trips on church business.