CALIFORNIA/OKLAHOMA
NBC San Diego
By Brie Stimson and Matt Rascon
More than four years after being convicted of groping a 20-year-old woman in San Diego, a priest is behind a Catholic pulpit again.
Father Jose Alexis Davila had been at St. Jude’s Shrine of the West in Southcrest only two months when he was arrested in 2012. He was later reinstated at St. Jude’s but left by the end of the year.
“Without excusing or justifying his behavior, I think he can now safely and appropriately return to ministry,” Paul S. Coakley, the Archbishop of Oklahoma City where Davila now works, said.
“Some actions such as the sexual abuse of a child are so grievous that the perpetrator must be permanently removed from ministry. This was not one of those actions.”
Joelle Casteix, with Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), has followed Davila’s case since the original sexual assault charges against him.
“If he knew about Davila’s background and still allowed him to be a priest, that is reckless endangerment, and it should definitely be held accountable,” Casteix said.
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