Catholic Priest jailed for murdering son
Pastor Dale Morgan
Catholic Priest jailed for murdering son*
A Catholic priest in Mexico who killed his son so the Church would not
know he had broken vows of celibacy has been jailed for 55 years in
Mexico City.
Dagoberto Valle Arriaga had confessed in 2005 to killing his son, Oscar.
State prosecutors have not released the boy's age nor any details about
his murder, but local media are reporting that he was 16 when he was killed.
Mr Valle, who was a priest in the city of Texcoco, on the outskirts of
the capital, was arrested ion 2006.
He was accused of kidnapping his son in September 2005 and bringing him
to the central state of Guanajuato before murdering him.
The authorities released no details of how the boy was killed, but it
appears that his father dumped his body in the outskirts of a city
called Acambaro.
Officials said he was afraid the Church would find out about the boy's
existence and remove him from the priesthood for breaking his vows of
celibacy.
Celibacy is considered obligatory for Roman Catholic priests, although
some Church officials have said it is not prescribed doctrine.
Roughly 150,000 men worldwide have left the priesthood to marry. The
Church considers them outcasts.