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Catholic churches in Dallas are on alert after sightings of a pretend priest.
“He went by the name ‘Father Martin’,” Katy Kiser, director of communications for the Catholic Diocese of Dallas stated. “We know that he at least visited six locations here in the Catholic Diocese of Dallas. Each of those locations, he was able to access public areas. It was just one place in which he went to an area that was not available for the public.”
The imposter is sought after in Houston for robbery.
According to the Houston Police Department, the person stole money from St. Thomas More Catholic Church on Oct. 27. Staff advised investigators the person claimed to be visiting clergy from Chicago. He allegedly requested for get admission to to the rectory after he forgot his keys in one of the vital rooms.
The guy used to be given get admission to and as soon as within, and roughly half-hour later, used to be observed entering a automobile parked within reach. The worker advised police the pretend priest took money; alternatively, police didn’t specify the quantity.
That identical guy used to be spotted in Dallas days ahead of. According to the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, an worker made a record a few suspicious guy on Oct. 25.
“There were a series of visits at different parishes throughout the Diocese of Dallas,” Kiser stated.
According to the director of safety and emergency control for the diocese, the person used the similar method to take a look at to get admission to non-public belongings. The staff, alternatively, weren’t satisfied.
“They realized what the situation it didn’t feel right. And so, they spoke up,” Kiser stated. “If a visiting clergy person comes to our dioceses from another location, they come with a certain criteria, certain credentials. Usually they come with a suitability letter, which means they’re in good standing with the Catholic Church and within their diocese. And in each of these situations, he didn’t appear to have what we needed to verify who he was.”
Although the person did acquire get admission to to a non-public space on the second one ground of a church, Kiser stated not anything used to be stolen as all doorways have been locked.
“There are areas where you’ll find the doors will be locked that you have to go through an extra set of security measures to access certain areas of a church. And that was the case,” Kiser stated. “But he never took anything from us because we had people that questioned what he was doing at our diocese. And we want people to know that we are all about love thy neighbor, but we’re also about questioning when something doesn’t feel right.”
According to Houston police, the pretend priest has remarkable warrants in California and Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, the director of safety and emergency control for the diocese in Dallas stated the person has additionally been spotted in churches in Oregon, Cincinnati, North Dakota, California, and Ohio.
