By Dale Lezon
Houston Chronicle
December 3, 2010
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/religion/new/7322852.html
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| Alberto Maullon served at St. Paul The Apostle Catholic Church in Nassau Bay. |
A local priest has been given a leave of absence from ministerial duties after he was arrested at an adult video store in southeast Houston this week.
Alberto A. Maullon, pastor of St. Paul The Apostle Catholic Church in Nassau Bay, is charged with public lewdness, a misdemeanor, Houston police say. He is free on $1,000 bail.
Police said Maullon was arrested about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday inside Big City Adult Video at 10105 Gulf Freeway. He allegedly exposed himself to an undercover agent, who was part of a sting operation involving sexually oriented businesses, police said.
Officials with the Archdiocese of Houston-Galveston said Maullon requested and has been granted a leave from his duties at his church.
"The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston was greatly saddened to learn of the arrest of Father Alberto Maullon, who has been pastor at St. Paul The Apostle Catholic Church in Houston since 2002," it said in a statement to the news media.
The diocese also said Maullon had expressed deep sorrow for any pain caused by his arrest.
"I ask you to join me in praying for St. Paul Parish and for Father Maullon as he addresses these very personal challenges," Daniel Cardinal DiNardo said. "May the healing power of God be with all those impacted by this news."
News of the arrest of the beloved priest who had served at St. Paul for eight years stunned the parish community.
"I felt like somebody had punched me in the stomach," said Jim Lockwood, one of the church deacons. "We're disappointed, but all we can do is pray for him. We're all sinners and when you take him off that pedestal, he's just a human being."
Maullon, one of nine children, emigrated from the Philippines, where his uncle was a Catholic bishop, and attended seminary in the U.S.
He previously served as priest at St. Bartholomew the Apostle Catholic Church in Katy, the diocese said.
In both the Katy and Nassau Bay parishes, he led expansion campaigns to build new churches. St. Paul's, which seats about 800, is near Johnson Space Center and earned an architectural award this year for being the best worship space in Texas.
The parochial vicar, Cyriacus Onyejegbu, will fill in temporarily, Lockwood said.
Alicia Root, a member of the parish council, was also saddened by the arrest. "The father has done a lot of good," Root said. "This is an unfortunate incident, but it is also our nature to forgive."
Lockwood called pornography the greatest addiction in today's society, but said shame keeps anyone from wanting to talk about it.
During Maullon's tenure at the church, neither Lockwood nor Root was aware of any hint of scandal involving the priest until now.
Neither believed preventing priests from marrying had led to the sexual controversies that the church has lately faced.
"Even those who marry deal with the same demons," Root said.
Contact: cindy.horswell@chron.com
Contact: dale.lezon@chron.com
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