OKLAHOMA
News OK
by Carla Hinton Published: April 25, 2016
A Roman Catholic leader said Monday he is “assessing the situation” regarding a Lawton priest who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor involving a young woman.
The Most Rev. Paul S. Coakley, archbishop of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, issued the second of two prepared statements about the Rev. Jose Alexis Davila on Monday evening.
The archbishop’s remarks came as some parishioners of Lawton’s Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church began voicing their concerns about Davila after news of his misdemeanor surfaced recently.
Diane Clay, archdiocesan spokeswoman, said Coakley had received emails and telephone calls from some parishioners of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church about Davila after recent media reports that Davila pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in 2012 in San Diego.
Clay said most of the parishioners voicing their uneasiness were those whose children attend St. Mary’s Catholic School in Lawton. Clay said as pastor or parish priest of a church tied to a school, the priest is part of the school environment.
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