Crystal Lake priest accused of defamation
A priest using his Sunday homily to rail against greed, selfishness and sin is to be expected.
A priest using his Sunday homily to rail against a parishioner? That's defamation. At least according to a lawsuit filed by an Algonquin man Monday against a pair of priests and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockford.
Angel R. Llavona claims the Rev. Luis Alfredo Rios of St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Crystal Lake impugned his reputation as a good Catholic during an October 2006 homily in order to get revenge for Llavano's criticism of the priest's prior efforts.
"The conduct was truly extreme and outrageous," according to the six-count lawsuit filed in McHenry County court. "Rios intended that the conduct would inflict severe distress or knew that there was a high probability that such conduct would cause such distress."
The suit, which also names St. Thomas Pastor Monsignor Daniel Hermes as a defendant, seeks more than $50,000 in compensatory damages plus additional punitive damages from the priests and diocese.
Rios and co-defendant Monsignor Daniel Hermes were out of town Tuesday and unavailable to discuss the allegations, parish staff said this morning.
Penny Wiegert, a spokeswoman for the Rockford Diocese, called the dispute between priest and parishioner unfortunate.
"We hope that a peaceful solution at St. Thomas the Apostle can be established outside the courts," Wiegert said. "We pray that all parties involved work together for a responsible resolution."
The events leading up to the lawsuit began Sept. 24, 2006, the suit claims, when Llavona attended a Mass conducted by Rios. The next day, court documents state, Llavona called Rios' private phone line and left a message criticizing the homily.
"I attended Mass on Sunday and I have seen poor homilies, but yesterday broke all records," Llavona said, according to the lawsuit.
At the time, the suit states, Llavona served as a member of the religious education program at St. Thomas. He also is a teacher at Maine West High School in Des Plaines.
Three days after leaving the message, Llavona attempted to meet with Rios in person, the suit states. The priest, however, refused and Llavona left him another phone message, this time telling Rios he "ran away" from criticism.
The suit alleges that Rios got his revenge the following Sunday by using his homily to attack Llavona in front of his fellow parishioners. Rios, according to the lawsuit, broadcast the phone messages Llavona left for him earlier in the week and then sharply criticized him.
"This is the person in charge of religious education here last year," Rios said, according to the suit. "That's why it is no surprise to me we had the kind of religious education we had. That's why we didn't get any altar boys.
"What should we do, send him to hell or another parish?" Rios added, according to the suit.
Rios repeated the broadcast and comments during a later Mass that day, the suit states.
The comments, Llavona claims, caused emotional distress, damaged his reputation as a Catholic and unfairly questioned his skills as a teacher.
The case is scheduled to make its first appearance in court Feb. 11 before Judge Michael Caldwell.