San Antonio, Texas, Mar 15, 2016 / 13:31 pm
Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller of San Antonio has released a statement mourning the death of one of his priests, Father Virgilio Elizondo, who was found dead on Monday of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound.
"I join the priests of the Archdiocese of San Antonio as we are deeply saddened and stunned by the news of the death of Father Virgilio Elizondo on March 14," Archbishop Garcia-Siller stated. "This is an occasion for great sorrow, as his death was sudden and unexpected."
Fr. Elizondo, a leader among Hispanic Catholics well-known for his promotion of liberation theology in the United States, was a professor of pastoral and Hispanic theology at the University of Notre Dame. He was found dead at the age of 80 in San Antonio.
A lawsuit had been filed against Fr. Elizondo in May 2015 accusing him of sexually abusing a boy in the 1980s. The priest had denied the allegation and reportedly intended to fight it in court.