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Who killed Fr. Kunz? Wisc. police launch campaign to revive cold case

March 7, 2018 CNA Daily News 0

Madison, Wis., Mar 7, 2018 / 03:22 pm (CNA).- Fr. Alfred Kunz was a 67-year-old parish priest at St. Michael’s church in the rural town of Dane, Wisconsin.

He recorded radio shows and was known for his love of the traditional Latin Mass, serving as a parish priest for 31 years. He often cooked cod at the local fish fries on Friday nights in an effort to raise money for the parish school.

On March 4, 1998, Fr. Kunz was found dead in a pool of blood with a slit across his throat inside St. Michael’s school.

The killer was never found.

In an effort to revive Fr. Kunz’s cold case 20 years later, the local police department is launching a social media campaign to see if there is any new information on who killed the priest.

“On the 20th anniversary, we thought we would start releasing information to the public that has not been publicly released,” said David J. Mahoney, a Dane County Sheriff, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

“I’m at a position in this case now, that if we haven’t solved it in 20 years, we need to do something different,” Mahoney continued.

Theories behind the murder abound, ranging from an attempt to prevent the priest from exposing sexual abuse to the work of a Satanic temple active near the parish. Fr. Kunz was reported to have a harsh, controlling personality, and police officials had told reporters that there were suggestions of financial and sexual impropriety in connection with the priest.

The social media campaign includes posts from the police department with the hashtag #whokilledfatherkunz. The posts include information about the case, such as the murder weapon, which was never found, and various conversations that Fr. Kunz had in the last days of his life.

In addition to the campaign, Kunz’s cold case will be featured on season three of the podcast “Unsolved,” which is currently under production.

William Yallaly, chancellor of the Diocese of Madison, told CNA that the sheriff’s office initiated the investigation, but the diocese is in full support.

He noted that Bishop Robert Morlino, who currently heads the diocese, arrived several years after the death of Fr. Kunz, but said that the bishop has affirmed the sheriff in undertaking the campaign to re-open the case.

“We want the truth to come out, whatever it is,” Yallaly said.

Regarding reports of possible motives, he noted, “We have heard rumors, gossip, and third party accusations, but have not received any concrete accusations of romantic, sexual, or financial improprieties.”

He encouraged the faithful to “pray for the repose of the soul of Fr. Kunz.”

Over the weekend a Requiem Mass was celebrated in honor of Fr. Kunz, marking the twentieth anniversary of his death.

“He was a very holy man,” said Fr. Richard Heilman of St. Mary’s parish.

Although two decades have passed since his death, Mahoney hopes that the killer will come forward with a guilty conscience, or a perhaps a family member of the killer will offer new information.

In the initial investigation of the murder, the sheriff said, investigators may have focused too narrowly on one suspect, although there were several other people of interest.

However, Mahoney is hopeful that the new campaign could give them the second wind they need to close the case.

“We’re at the 10-yard line, but we’re pitted against a pretty strong defense and we need a good Aaron Rodgers to get us across the goal line.”

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No Picture
News Briefs

Bishops ask faithful to flood Congress with calls for Conscience Protection Act

March 6, 2018 CNA Daily News 2

Washington D.C., Mar 6, 2018 / 03:23 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued a statement asking people to pray, call, and write to their Congressional representatives to urge the inclusion of the Conscience Protection Act in the government’s upcoming funding bill.

The statement, issued by Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, chair of the conference’s pro-life committee, and Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, chair of the religious liberty committee, urges Catholics to “flood” their members of Congress in support of the act.

“Increasing and fierce attacks on conscience rights regarding abortion cry out for an immediate remedy,” said the archbishops. “Nurses and other health care providers and institutions are being forced to choose between participating in abortions or leaving health care altogether.”

While the bishops’ conference is encouraging action each day until the bill is enacted, they are especially focusing on Monday, March 12 as a day of action. The funding deadline is March 23.

The Conscience Protection Act would protect physicians and nurses from being forced to engage in procedures that violate their conscience, such as abortion or sterilization.

It would also prevent employers from being forced to cover abortions in their health care plans if the procedure violates their conscience beliefs. Currently, three states–California, Oregon, and New York–require most or all insurance plans to cover abortion.

“Opponents and supporters of abortion should be able to agree that no one should be forced to participate in abortion,” reads the bishops’ statement. “Congress must remedy this problem by enacting the Conscience Protection Act now as part of the FY 2018 funding bill.”

Failure to pass this legislation could result in prejudice against pro-life or religious employees, said Dr. Michael Parker of the Catholic Medical Association.

“If it’s not enacted, it could lead to discrimination against these people – failure to work for certain employers or given access to certain programs,” he told CNA.

“For example, Vanderbilt University made all their nurse practitioners in their programs agree to participate in abortion procedures in order to be accepted into their program,” Parker said. There have also been several cases where nurses have faced the threat of losing their job if they would not assist in an abortion.

Parker warned that forcing someone to violate their conscience in this manner could result in additional issues later in life. Mandating someone who is against abortion to perform or assist with one could “cause them to have significant remorse,” or could possibly trigger psychological problems.

“[The Catholic Medical Association] has always been for a conscience protection law that protects the conscience rights of physicians, especially in performing elective procedures such as abortions, sterilizations, physician-assisted suicide – or even genital mutilation,” said Parker.

The U.S. bishops’ conference has also released a video as part of the promotional effort for next week’s advocacy:

<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/uTesQb1Kb9o” frameborder=”0″ allow=”autoplay; encrypted-media” allowfullscreen></iframe>

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