Meet LA's new archbishop: Priest named in sexual abuse lawsuit

[Nikki Stone1]

A Catholic priest from a rural parish west of San Antonio is accused in a lawsuit filed Thursday of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy at gunpoint and during private catechism sessions two years ago. The suit, which names outgoing Archbishop José Gomez as a defendant and claims he sought to conceal the matter, comes three days after the Vatican named Gomez as the next archbishop in Los Angeles.....

The suit claims that Father John M. Fiala repeatedly assaulted the youth from January to August 2008 while Fiala was working as administrator at Sacred Heart of Mary in Rocksprings. That’s the county seat of Edwards County, which is about 110 miles west of San Antonio and is part of the Archdiocese of San Antonio. The alleged victim, who last fall turned 18 and is unnamed in the suit, was a member of the parish along with his family and still lives in Edwards County....

...Gomez removed Fiala from ministry in October 2008 and informed his religious order and the three congregations where he used to work, according to a statement issued Thursday. The statement also said Fiala’s religious order, the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity based in Robstown, has removed him from priestly ministry.

The archdiocese said it was acting on a complaint it received in the fall of that year that involved interference with child custody. The archdiocese did not acknowledge receiving a sex-abuse complaint against Fiala.

The archdiocese said Thursday it has cooperated in the investigation, but it did not say whether it had reported any complaints against Fiala to police.....