SAN ANTONIO – A teenager has filed a lawsuit against the Archdiocese of San Antonio, alleging that he was sexually abused repeatedly by a parish priest.
The teen's attorney, Tom Rhodes, said in the 20-page lawsuit that the boy was assaulted in 2007 and 2008 by Father John M. Fiala, who was then the pastor at the Sacred Heart of Mary Church in Rocksprings.
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The lawsuit accuses Fiala of forcing the teen to have sex at gunpoint. Rhodes said the teen's mother complained about Fiala taking the boy out of town without her permission, and that the Archdiocese didn't intervene.
In an official statement, the Archdiocese said it received a complaint against Fiala in the fall of 2008. The statement said there was no allegation of sexual misconduct, but it was working with the Edwards County Sheriff's Office on the investigation. It also said that Archbishop Jose Gomez informed Fiala's religious order of the investigation and that he was suspending Fiala's ability to minister within the Archdiocese.
Earlier this week, Gomez addressed abuse allegations in the San Antonio diocese he leaves behind.
"If there are priests that have been accused, I need to know about it, because every single accusation has been taken seriously in the Archdiocese of San Antonio," he said.
The lawsuit names Archbishop Gomez, who was just named to a high-profile post leading the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, as a defendant, as head of the Archdiocese of San Antonio.
Fiala arrived in the San Antonio Archdiocese after several assignments in Corpus Christi, Omaha, Neb., and Kansas City, Mo.
The lawsuit claims the Archdiocese knew about the threat Fiala posed and just reassigned him.
As part of the investigation, Fiala has been suspended and removed from the ministry.
The Edwards County Sheriff's Office has launched a criminal investigation, but as of right now, no charges have been filed.