Reverend Casmir Mung’aho was dismissed from his position at Saint Stephen the First Martyr Church after officials discovered he had secretly fathered a child. All Roman Catholic priests are required by the church to remain celibate, although this was not always the case. Celibacy, in fact, is not even a doctrine of the religion but instead a law or a ruling by the governing officials of the church. It can and has been changed when needed or on individual basis. But, that is usually reserved for men, over the age of 35, who are ordained and usually have no ambition to become part of the priesthood. Slinking off during your first year of seminary school and fathering a child to an unmarried women, is not going to help your cause in any case. But, that is exactly what Mung’aho did while attending the Saint Joseph’s Seminary School.
Bishop Dominick Lagonegro did not explain how they learned about Mung’aho’s relationship and child, but records like that are not hard to find. If the mother claimed Mung’aho as the father on a birth certificate then the county recorder would have that on file. While there are laws that govern the information employers can receive from background record agencies, there are no limits to a company or organization conducting their own research. Employers are legally authorized to perform background checks and criminal record searches on their own behalf. But, lets put the conspiracy theorists on ease right now and say that any secret intelligence agencies, that belong with the church, are slim to none. The likelihood that this was simply spread by word of mouth or confession by a family member, participant, or associate who’s feeling guilty is highly probable.
This is not the first time a New York suburb has had a scandal in the church. James McCarthy, at the age of 59, resigned in 2002 from his position as pastor of the Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, just a hour drive away. McCarthy confessed to having multiple relationships during his early career, including a relationship with a 21 year old woman. In McCarthy’s case, it was not public records or private investigation that did him in. It was a confession written to the Cardinal, Edward Egan, by one of the women he had a relationship with that revealed his past. While it’s understandable why people are concerned with personal information being so easily available, collected, sold and used by various organizations and corporations. It’s usually something much simpler and closer to home that causes the real risk to your privacy.
