Man Stripped of Priesthood for 'History of Professional Misconduct'
By: KARK 4 News
Updated: January 8, 2013
By orders from Rome, a priest removed from his duties at Our Lady of Holy Souls Catholic Church in 2010 has been dismissed from the priesthood.
Priest Royce Thomas was notified of the decision on Sunday, according to Bishop Anthony Taylor.
Taylor said the decision was based on a "history of professional misconduct."
While Thomas remains a Catholic in good standing, he is restricted from public ministry as a layman in the church.
The bishop released the following statement:
It is my sad duty to announce that on Dec. 29, 2012, I received from the Congregation for the Clergy in Rome their decree imposing on (former) Msgr. Royce R. Thomas the ecclesiastical penalty of involuntary dismissal from the clerical state. This decree dispenses him from all the obligations connected with sacred ordination, including sacred celibacy, and deprives him of all ecclesiastical honors previously received and offices previously held. This ecclesiastical penalty was imposed due to a history of professional misconduct as a priest, and the decree stipulates that there is no further recourse to this supreme and final decision. I met with (now) Mr. Thomas on Jan. 6, 2013 as directed by the Congregation for the Clergy to inform him of this decree. While he remains a Catholic in good standing, the congregation also required me to inform him of the restrictions imposed on him by Rome regarding any future public ministry as a layman in the Church. Please keep him in your prayers.
Priest Royce Thomas was notified of the decision on Sunday, according to Bishop Anthony Taylor.
Taylor said the decision was based on a "history of professional misconduct."
While Thomas remains a Catholic in good standing, he is restricted from public ministry as a layman in the church.
The bishop released the following statement:
It is my sad duty to announce that on Dec. 29, 2012, I received from the Congregation for the Clergy in Rome their decree imposing on (former) Msgr. Royce R. Thomas the ecclesiastical penalty of involuntary dismissal from the clerical state. This decree dispenses him from all the obligations connected with sacred ordination, including sacred celibacy, and deprives him of all ecclesiastical honors previously received and offices previously held. This ecclesiastical penalty was imposed due to a history of professional misconduct as a priest, and the decree stipulates that there is no further recourse to this supreme and final decision. I met with (now) Mr. Thomas on Jan. 6, 2013 as directed by the Congregation for the Clergy to inform him of this decree. While he remains a Catholic in good standing, the congregation also required me to inform him of the restrictions imposed on him by Rome regarding any future public ministry as a layman in the Church. Please keep him in your prayers.
Comments
Arkansas priest ousted; SNAP responds
For immediate release: Tuesday, Jan. 8
Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 862 7688 home, 314 503 0003 cell, SNAPdorris@gmail.com)
Something here doesn%u2019t pass the %u2018smell test%u2019 with the defrocking of Fr. Royce Thomas.
A 40 year veteran of the priesthood is not permanently ousted from the priesthood by the Vatican over trivial misdeeds. We strongly suspect that there%u2019s much more here than Bishop Taylor is admitting.
And we know of no priest ever who%u2019s been defrocked because of an alleged drinking problem.
Bishop Taylor and his brother bishops have pledged to be %u201Copen and transparent%u201D about clergy [censored] misconduct cases. We suspect this may be one of such cases, though we hope we%u2019re wrong. In any event, Bishop Taylor owes his flock more information than he has provided thus far.
If you have information or suspicions about any possible misdeeds by Fr. Thomas, we strongly urge you to contact police or prosecutors, even if you believe his actions may not have been criminal. (That%u2019s a determination best made by law enforcement officials themselves, not by well-meaning but untrained lay people.) We also urge you to turn to independent sources of help (therapists, self-help groups, etc.), rather than to church officials (who will likely continue to try to keep this situation hidden).
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world%u2019s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 12,000 members. Despite the word %u201Cpriest%u201D in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
Contact - David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, SNAPclohessy@aol.com), Barbara Dorris (314-862-7688 home, 314-503-0003 cell, SNAPdorris@gmail.com), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747, SNAPblaine@gmail.com), Peter Isely (414-429-7259, peterisely@yahoo.com),) Joelle Casteix (949-322-7434, jcasteix@gmail.com), Judy Jones 636-433-2511, snapjudy@gmail.com)
David C.
January 10, 2013 at 10:09 am
Arkansas priest ousted; SNAP responds
For immediate release: Tuesday, Jan. 8
Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 862 7688 home, 314 503 0003 cell, SNAPdorris@gmail.com)
Something here doesn%u2019t pass the %u2018smell test%u2019 with the defrocking of Fr. Royce Thomas.
A 40 year veteran of the priesthood is not permanently ousted from the priesthood by the Vatican over trivial misdeeds. We strongly suspect that there%u2019s much more here than Bishop Taylor is admitting.
And we know of no priest ever who%u2019s been defrocked because of an alleged drinking problem.
Bishop Taylor and his brother bishops have pledged to be %u201Copen and transparent%u201D about clergy [censored] misconduct cases. We suspect this may be one of such cases, though we hope we%u2019re wrong. In any event, Bishop Taylor owes his flock more information than he has provided thus far.
If you have information or suspicions about any possible misdeeds by Fr. Thomas, we strongly urge you to contact police or prosecutors, even if you believe his actions may not have been criminal. (That%u2019s a determination best made by law enforcement officials themselves, not by well-meaning but untrained lay people.) We also urge you to turn to independent sources of help (therapists, self-help groups, etc.), rather than to church officials (who will likely continue to try to keep this situation hidden).
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world%u2019s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 12,000 members. Despite the word %u201Cpriest%u201D in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
Contact - David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, SNAPclohessy@aol.com), Barbara Dorris (314-862-7688 home, 314-503-0003 cell, SNAPdorris@gmail.com), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747, SNAPblaine@gmail.com), Peter Isely (414-429-7259, peterisely@yahoo.com),) Joelle Casteix (949-322-7434, jcasteix@gmail.com), Judy Jones 636-433-2511, snapjudy@gmail.com)
David C.
January 10, 2013 at 10:09 am
I've known Ricky all his life. so sad
Bob H.
January 9, 2013 at 6:44 pm
