Drunk Priest Leads Police on a High-Speed Chase After Allegedly Stealing Oven Mitts at Walmart
A drunk New Jersey priest was accused of shoplifting at a Walmart Supercenter and subsequently led authorities on a high-speed chase. (Photo: Ole Spata/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)
Lehigh Valley Live reported on Thursday that a local priest was apprehended by authorities after being accused of shoplifting at a Walmart and leading police on a high-speed chase.
Father Dawid Wejnerowski, a 39-year-old pastor of St. Mary Church in Alpha, allegedly stole less than $50 worth of items. Some of the items he was accused of pilfering from a Walmart Supercenter included ice cream containers and oven mitts.
Wejnerowski is charged with disorderly persons shoplifting; second-degree eluding police; drunken driving; having an open container of alcohol in a vehicle; and multiple traffic offenses, according to Lehigh Valley Live.
After local police confronted Wejnerowski, he apparently led them on a drunken high-speed chase through the Parkside neighborhood, according to New Jersey 101.5. He was ultimately apprehended.
The local diocese explained that the pastor would be stepping down from his role at the church.
“It is clear Fr. Dawid has a very serious problem with alcohol,” a statement from the diocese read. “He has accepted this fact, the first step in recovery. He will be stepping aside from his role as Pastor of St. Mary Catholic Church in Alpha to provide him the necessary time to seek inpatient treatment out of state.”
In 2013, U.S. Catholic’s article, “When Father Has a Drinking Problem,” touched lightly on the subject of priests and alcohol and explored the relationship between the parish and alcohol.
“It’s a hard sell for a parish to get its hands around the fact that it’s sick, too,” said Father William Stenzel, a Chicago priest to the outlet. “We’re looking at how we can offer more assistance to a parish when a priest has gone into treatment for alcoholism and other addictions. Part of that is based on the need for the priest to return to a healthy situation, as opposed to one where anger hasn’t been dealt with or enabling behaviors haven’t been adjusted.”
U.S. Catholic wrote that drinking is “endemic in church culture,” and alcoholism within the clergy often goes undetected.
The article cited that Guest House, a treatment center for Catholic clergy suffering from alcoholism, reports that 10%-12% of priests suffer from alcoholism — a similar statistic to the general population.
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