Alfred Kunz (Catholic priest)
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Father Alfred Kunz, (April 15, 1931 - March 4, 1998), was a traditionalist Catholic priest who was found with his throat slit open in his Roman Catholic church in Dane, Wisconsin. His murder has never been solved.[1]
Kunz, though he continued to say the Latin Mass, also said the Mass in English and was in communion with the mainstream Catholic Church, unlike others in the traditionalist Catholic movement. "Father Kunz was a well-known expert in canon law, so he knew how to walk the lines," Bill Brophy, a spokesman for the Madison, Wisconsin Catholic Diocese said shortly after his murder.[1]
[edit] Motives for murder
Prior to his death, Kunz had his own radio show and had been a close associate of Malachi Martin, an author and exorcist. After Kunz was murdered, Martin alleged that the priest had been killed by "Luciferians" and said Kunz had performed several exorcisms before his death. Martin said Kunz felt his life was in danger in the weeks before his murder. Kunz's friend, Abbot Ryan St. Anne Scott felt Kunz's murder was related to Kunz's investigation of sexual abuse scandals in the diocese.[2] The Dane County Sheriff's Department also investigated a calf mutilation 15 miles from Kunz's church the day before his murder that a farmer attributed to a cult. Kunz had allegedly been investigating reports of homosexuality and sexual abuse by priests within the diocese of Springfield, Illinois. There were also allegations that Kunz had been involved with female parishioners.[1]
"The motives are all over the place, anything from jealousy, power and control to betrayal and fear of exposure," Dane County Sheriff's Lieutenant Kevin Hughes said in 2001. "So take your pick at this point. We just don't know yet."[1]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d Nowlen, Chuck (2001). "The Devil and Father Kunz". Retrieved on February 16, 2007.
- ^ Abbott, Matt C. (2004). "The bizarre case of Rev. Ryan St. Anne Scott". Retrieved on February 17, 2007.
