WebProNews

Tag: priest

  • Police Defend Decision to Free Priest Killer

    Eureka, California police have stated that there was no reason to hold murder suspect Gary Lee Bullock, who was freed from custody just hours before slaying Reverend Eric Freed of St. Bernard’s Catholic Parish. Reverend Freed was found dead in the rectory of the church on New Year’s Day, after missing morning mass.

    Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department defended the decision to let Bullock out of custody, citing that there was no serious criminal behavior committed, or any evidence of psychiatric problems. Lt. Steve Knight commented, “This was standard practice,” adding that, “It was truly a tragic, tragic event that this happened after the fact. Unfortunately, we release people from our jail because we have to, and they go commit other crimes. There was no indication of anything unusual here.”

    Police Chief Andrew Mills stated, “In this, I am satisfied our officers did what they could do, given the parameters of the law. The question becomes could we have done other administrative things such as taken him over to the shelter. Would that have been reasonable? We’ll have to wrestle with these questions.”

    According the the Eureka Police Department press release concerning the murder:

    On Dec. 31, 2013 BULLOCK was the subject of a radio call regarding a person who was acting strangely in the Garberville area of southern Humboldt County. Humboldt County deputies located and arrested BULLOCK for public intoxication. He was taken to jail where he was rejected due to his erratic behavior.

    BULLOCK was then taken to the hospital for evaluation where he became more agitated and had to be physically restrained by deputies. BULLOCK was ultimately booked into jail at 1634 hours.

    Gary BULLOCK was released at 0043 hours on January 1, 2014. At about 0200 hours officers from Eureka Police Department were dispatched to 615 H Street, regarding a suspicious person. Officers contacted BULLOCK nad found that BULLOCK was not intoxicated and did not qualify for an emergency psychological hold. Officers referred BULLOCK to an emergency shelter for the night.

    Bullock was then free to enter St. Bernard’s. A warrant was then issued for his arrest, and deputies discovered the suspect riding in his stepfather’s pickup truck, near his mother’s property, while en route to turn himself in. Bullock surrendered without incident, and bail was set at $1 million.

    Image via Eureka Police Department.

  • The Pope Urges Priests To Get On The Blogosphere

    Pope Benedict XVI has been the Holy See for almost five years, and during that time, he (and the Catholic church along with him) has become more and more involved in social media. Last year, he launched a YouTube channel, social media outreach initiative, and apps for Facebook and the iPhone. And now he’s urging parish priests to follow his lead into the Internet.

    And just to show how with-it he really is, this message is from . . . the future. (No, really—it’s dated 16 May 2010.) For the 44th World Communications Day, the Supreme Pontiff noted the advancements in communications thanks to the Internet, and said (will say?):

    Priests are thus challenged to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources (images, videos, animated features, blogs, websites) which, alongside traditional means, can open up broad new vistas for dialogue, evangelization and catechesis.

    (Vocab lesson: evangelization: preaching the gospel; catechesis: teaching the doctrine.)

    Naturally, of course, the 82-year-old pope must have a staff dedicated to maintaining these sites with videos and messages from the Bishop of Rome—and yeah, it was probably their idea. But hey, the Sovereign of the Vatican not only signed off but has continued to participate with his image and messages, and he’s the one urging local priests to become similarly involved.

    Many priests and deacons are already active in the Catholic blogosphere, but the official impetus is new. In the end, reaching parishioners where they already congregate (well, outside of church ;) ) is always a good idea. And it seems pretty forward-thinking for a church that old and that large.

    What do you think? Will the Pope’s support of priestly blogging mark a change in the way local officials relate to their communities?

    Comments