Beloved Catholic priest found slain in California church rectory
California, USA, Jan 2, 2014: A beloved Roman Catholic priest was found dead Wednesday
in his church's rectory, spurring police to launch a murder investigation and those
he touched to try to make sense of his sudden passing.
Eureka, California,
Police Chief Andy Mills said officers -- responding to a call from staff at St. Bernard
Church -- first came across the victim around 9 a.m. Wednesday. He did not elaborate
on how the death occurred, adding Wednesday night that there were no suspects.
Mayor
Frank Jager identified the victim as the Rev. Eric Freed, whom he called a personal
friend and a "tremendous person in this community" since his arrival three years ago.
The St. Bernard Parish website featured a cross and the words, "Rest in Peace," above
Freed's name. "He was a really, genuinely warm individual," said professor Stephen
Cunha, the chairman of Humboldt University's religious studies department where Freed
taught for more than 10 years. "... Kind is the word that comes to mind, sensitive."
Noting
that students at the state university loved Freed -- who was also deeply involved
in that school's Catholic student group, the Newman Center -- Cunha added: "This was
not some stuffy clergyman. He was very much someone that you could sit down and speak
with... "He connected with everybody."
Local and state authorities remained
at St. Bernard Church -- one of two in the coastal Northern California city situated
275 miles north of San Francisco where he was the sole pastor -- late Wednesday processing
the crime scene and following up on tips, Mills said. Those efforts include looking
for Freed's vehicle, a 2010 Nissan Altima. The police chief said that authorities
had no solid leads.
Just a few days ago, the priest sent a note to his parishioners
thanking them for their support and prayers and wishing them a Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year. "I cannot tell you how proud and honored I am to be your pastor,"
Freed wrote in a letter posted on the parish website. "Our parish is alive, joyful
and full of faith, hope and charity that define us as Catholic Christians."
While
he was relatively new to St. Bernard, Freed had already made an impact there and elsewhere
around Eureka - including with the city's Japanese-American community, as Freed lived
in Japan for many years - Jager told CNN reporters.
"This is an absolutely
tremendous loss not only for the St. Bernard's Parish, but for our community generally,"
the mayor said. "For those of us who believe in prayer, this is the time for that."
His ties to Humbodt State went back even longer. A guest lecturer, Freed wrote a book
about the first atomic bomb and also taught about the New Testament, connecting with
Christians and non-Christians alike. "He was very well respected, very well liked
and had a tremendous working knowledge as well as academic knowledge," Cunha said.
"... To think that he passed in this way: It's just layers of grief and shock."