From The New York Times, an update on the murder of Father Arul Carasala:
The authorities arrested Gary L. Hermesch, 66. On Friday, prosecutors charged Mr. Hermesch with first-degree murder, saying that the shooting was intentional and premeditated, according to court documents.
A motive was not immediately given for the shooting. Jason Belveal, a lawyer for Mr. Hermesch, declined to comment on Saturday.
The Kansas City Star reported that Mr. Hermesch turned himself in at the Nemaha County Sheriff’s Office, where his brother works as a dispatcher.
Mr. Hermesch grew up in Seneca, The Star said, before moving to Tulsa. He had grown angry with the Catholic Church in recent years, and wrote a number of letters to the editor of local newspapers criticizing the “the fake Catholic Church” for its modern teachings.
KSNT in Kansas has more details:
From January 2021 to March 2024, Hermesch submitted entries to The Courier-Tribune, a newspaper covering Seneca and Nemaha County. The Courier-Tribune shared copies of six issues with 27 News, where Hermesch shared his thoughts on religion and a wide range of other topics in the ‘Letter to the Editor’ column.
“Let’s not sweat the small stuff, though, maybe if we just follow Donald Trump’s example we’ll ‘make the Church great again’. So why are things headed south like a runaway freight train? Simple. The faith is not being taught. Now is that equality and tolerance of other religions, or what?” — Statement excerpt by Gary Hermesch from Aug. 4, 2021 Letter to the Editor, The Courier-Tribune
While Hermesch writes about Catholicism and the Vatican in some letters, he does not mention Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, Father Arul Carasala or the town of Seneca.
