The Worthy Adversary

Author: Joelle Casteix

  • Convicted priest booted from OKC

    Convicted priest booted from OKC

    But where is he now? That’s an important question …

    From NewsOK:

    Tuesday, in a prepared statement, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, archbishop of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, said the Rev. Jose Alexis Davila was removed from his pastoral work in the archdiocese after more investigation was conducted into the priest’s past.

    Considering the archbishop claimed to have done an exhaustive investigation, I can only conclude that the real issue was parishioner pushback.

    Why? Because all you needed to do to learn the full story of Davila is do a Google search and read this blog. And it doesn’t cost a nickle.

    But on to the important question: Where is Davila now?

    From OKC Archbishop Coakley’s statement:

    After a continued investigation by archdiocesan staff, I became aware late Monday of new information regarding the allegations against Father Alexis Davila that made it necessary for me to remove him from pastoral work in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. Father Davila left the archdiocese on Tuesday. (emphasis mine)

    So we don’t know where he is. We don’t know if he’s allowed to be a priest. We don’t know where he’s living or working.

    Coakley just passed the trash down the road. He had options: He could have forced Davila to live in a monastery, away from vulnerable populations (women, children).  He could have made Davila live a life of prayer and penance.

    But he didn’t. So now, we need to keep looking for Jose Alexis Davila. And hopefully, if he turns up in another parish, Catholics and parents will be as brave and strong as the people of Lawton.

     

    2012_01_05_Grieco_PriestArrested_ph_Image1

  • Archdiocese of OKC circulates Davila’s expungement record, misleads press/parishioners

    Archdiocese of OKC circulates Davila’s expungement record, misleads press/parishioners

    In an attempt to mislead parishioners and the public and clear them of wrongdoing in hiring a priest who plead guilty to a sexual offense, the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City is circulating the priest’s “expungement document.”

    In this document, Fr. Jose Alexis Davila’s record of unlawful sexual touching is expunged. It is dated in 2015, after Davila should have completed the terms of his three-year probation.

    What is an expungement?

    An expungement document gives a person convicted of a crime a “fresh start.” It allows a person who was punished for an offense to tell prospective employers that they have not been convicted of a crime.

    It is NOT a “Certificate of actual innocence,” which is a document stating that the actual crime didn’t happen.

    Usually, a certificate of expungement is a part of a plea agreement: offender agrees to plead guilty, avoids trial, and is granted an expungement after probation is served.

    Why is this expungement irrelevant?

    This expungement is irrelevant because Davila is a priest who works with children and vulnerable adults. He is not an accountant, a warehouse worker, or a plumber.

    As a priest, Davila should not only be held to a higher standard, but he is also subject to ZERO TOLERANCE and promised by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

    He plead guilty to a sex crime. He should not work in a parish. Period.

    Remember what prosecutors said he did:

    Skeels told Commissioner Corinne Miesfeld that the defendant is accused of touching the victim in three areas against her will on Dec. 30. He touched her buttocks, put his finger in her vagina and touched her left breast, the prosecutor alleged.

    Police said the alleged assault happened at Davila’s home in Southcrest while the two were alone. The defendant turned himself in two days later.

     

  • Cops vs. Coakley: You be the judge

    Cops vs. Coakley: You be the judge

    Let’s play a game of “Who to believe …”

    In 2012, Fr. Jose Alexis Davila plead guilty to unlawful sexual touching.

    We learned this week that Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley put Davila back in a parish.

    Let’s see what Coakley had to say:

    While Father Davila’s actions with an adult parishioner five years ago occurred in the presence of others at his office in California, he understands that those actions were perceived as inappropriate. He accepted the consequences of his lapse in judgment.

    Let’s see what San Diego prosecutors had to say in 2012 about the crime (and remember … Davila ended up with a GUILTY PLEA):

    Skeels told Commissioner Corinne Miesfeld that the defendant is accused of touching the victim in three areas against her will on Dec. 30. He touched her buttocks, put his finger in her vagina and touched her left breast, the prosecutor alleged.

    Police said the alleged assault happened at Davila’s home in Southcrest while the two were alone. The defendant turned himself in two days later.

    How stupid does Coakley think we are?

     

     

  • Oklahoma City: Where Zero Tolerance Means Zip …

    Oklahoma City: Where Zero Tolerance Means Zip …

    What exactly does it take to get a priest removed?

    What does it take to get OKC Archbishop Paul Coakley to warn parishioners about a priest’s past?

    What does it take to get a religious community to stop minimizing a guilty plea to a sex crime?

    Fr. Jose Alexis Davila has now been exposed across San Diego and the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City as the man who plead guilty to unlawful sexual touching and battery in 2012. He sexually assaulted a woman in his home.

    Screen Shot 2016-04-24 at 6.52.32 AM

    What did Archbishop Paul Coakley do? Well, he:

    It’s appalling and criminal. Coakley should be ashamed and removed.

    I doubt Archbishop Coakley would allow Davila to run a parish if he were convicted of embezzlement.

     

     

  • Convicted Priest Resurfaces in Oklahoma

    So we can assume that OK City Archbishop Paul S. Coakley doesn’t bother with that whole “background check” thing.

    Why?

    A former San Diego priest who vanished after he pled guilty to misdemeanor sexual battery and “engaging in unlawful sexual touching” in 2012 has resurfaced in parishes in Oklahoma.

    Fr. Jose Alexis Davila
    Fr. Jose Alexis Davila

    Fr. Jose Alexis Davila was sentenced to three years’ probation in 2012 and ordered to stay away from the 19-year-old victim. The Diocese of San Diego was harshly criticized for allowing the priest back in a parish.

    By October of that year, Davila was gone.

    Thanks to a tip from a reader, I learned that Davila was assigned to Blessed Sacrament Parish in Lawton, OK in December 2015—in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.

    OK AB
    Oklahoma Archbishop Paul Coakley: “You’re a sex offender? No worries! I’ve got a job for you.”

    In the introduction to the parish, Davila is described as a priest from Venezuela, who emigrated here because he his family was persecuted.

    Father will be with our parish to assist Father Chapman. Reverend José A. Dávila was ordained in the Diocese of Cabimas, Venezuela on December 15, 1984. He most recently served as Pastor of Cristo Redentor, in Ojeda, Venezuela. However, he has pastoral experience in the United States. Several years ago Father Dávila’s family immigrated to the USA due to political persecution in Venezuela. To avoid any further persecution and to be closer to his family, Father Dávila, with permission of his Bishop in Cabimas, sought to serve in this Archdiocese.

    That’s funny … no mention of the whole, “and he’s a sex offender” issue. Or exactly what his “pastoral experience” in the United States was.

    In March of this year, he was moved to another parish and its missions:

    Official Assignment Effective March 29, 2016

    Fr. Alexis will be the administrator at Saint Ann Church, Elgin and missions, Mother of Sorrows Church, Apache, and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, Sterling. We are grateful Fr. Alexis has been with our parish since December. We wish him well, but this is not goodbye! God bless you Father on your assignment.

    Archbishop Coakley has some explaining to do.