The Vatican has expelled from the church an American priest who fled to Italy with the 18-year-old girl he had just married, the newspaper reports. New York Post.
“The Archdiocese of Mobile has received word that the laicization of Alex Crow has been completed and is effective immediately,” the statement said, citing the local archbishop.
The 30-year-old priest asked to be fired from his church duties in Mobile, a city in the US state of Alabama. The request was “confirmed in a letter from the Pope.”
The priest’s relationship with the young woman came to light when letters they exchanged on Valentine’s Day were found. At that time, the American was still a student.
The young woman only turned 18 in June, a month before they both left for Italy. After spending four months outside the United States, they returned to Mobile to consummate their relationship, recently getting married.
Secularization, a process which entails the removal of a member of the clergy from his duties, can only be started after an absence of more than six months. “Before the end of this period, Crowe began his own removal process, a move supported by the Archbishop,” the statement said.
A local sheriff told NBC that the priest, ordained in 2021, was fascinated by demons and shared with several people that he was going to Europe to perform an exorcism on his partner.
Authorities launched an investigation, which revealed no signs of possible crime on the part of the priest. In Alabama, the age of majority is 19, but the minimum age for sexual consent is 16.