Priest laments lack of help

Accused of attacking a woman at Our Lady of Las Vegas Catholic Church and now in the county jail awaiting trial, the 53-year-old priest said the Catholic Diocese of Las Vegas has turned its back on him in his hour of need, shattering his once strong faith in the church.

In a handful of letters he sent to supporters that were obtained by the Review-Journal, Chaanine states that no one from the diocese has visited him.

He rails against the church as a money-obsessed institution that has lost its way.

“I don’t understand … the poor spiritual guidance of my superiors. They value money more than an injured brother in the priesthood,” he wrote in one letter in mid-April.

In the letters, Chaanine appears at times to be depressed and full of despair; at other times, he is inspired to preach, sends warm thoughts to friends and says God will see him through.

He also paints himself as a victim.

“I understand very well at this moment what Jesus had felt after he was left alone at the crucifixion site,” he wrote while at the jail.

Authorities have been holding Chaanine since Feb. 10 on $1 million bail. Police said he struck a church worker, Michaelina Bellamy, over the head with a bottle multiple times and groped her on Jan. 26.

He is facing multiple counts, including attempted murder with a deadly weapon and sexual assault. He has pleaded innocent to all the charges.

In his letters, Chaanine does not discuss the accusations against him. He has declined all requests for interviews on the advice of his attorneys.

In a March letter, he wondered why no one from the diocese had visited him, even though church officials promised publicly to provide him “spiritual support.”

This perceived lack of support prompted Chaanine to condemn the Catholic church.

“Our Catholicism has become a social and political club; the message of Jesus is missing,” he wrote. “Money is the key factor of all our activities and the greedy hearts are looking for innocent victims to be abused.”

On Friday, a representative from the diocese visited Chaanine, according to friends of his.

Chaanine sent the letters to Bill and Margo Russell, a couple who volunteer at another church, the Guardian Angel Cathedral. Although neither was friends with Chaanine before the incident, they have become some of his most vocal supporters.

“I believe the church should take care of its own,” Margo Russell said. “I don’t think what they’ve done to Father George is right.”

Chaanine also sent letters to Melanie Thompson, who has a Web site at www.supportfathergeorge.org that asks for financial help and other donations to help him as he remains behind bars.

“Give the gift of compassion without judgment,” the site reads.

It goes on to say that Chaanine is accused of “unsubstantiated crimes” and is “facing multiple life sentences for alleged crimes for which most offenders receive minimal sentences.”

Thompson recently ordered signs advertising the Web site and plans to place them around the parish.

In one letter to Thompson, Chaanine said he was fighting “the hostile spiritual forces: fear, anxiety, stress, doubt and a lot of other temptations.”

“It is a fierce spiritual battle but Jesus has promised us victory. It doesn’t matter what the outcome is, whether I survive or even I die. My faith and hope in Jesus will never falter. I will never give up.”

At times, he has requested magazines such as Time, Newsweek and National Geographic. He has asked for books by religious leaders. Joel Osteen and Max Lucado have been mentioned as favorites.

For more than a month, Chaanine was in protective custody at the Clark County Detention Center. He was allowed out of his cell only about an hour a day, jail authorities said.

Chaanine wrote most of his letters during that time. He often complained of how cold and noisy it was inside the jail. Most of the racket came not from inmates but from a television.

“Every hour seems like an agony,” he wrote. “Only Jesus knows how painful is my experience here.”

A jail chaplain eventually gave him a pair of earplugs.

Authorities moved Chaanine to a less restrictive area of the jail about three weeks ago. He now has about eight hours a day outside his cell and offers Bible study to inmates. He often spends his time playing chess or reading, friends said.

In a statement, the Rev. Kevin McAuliffe, vicar general for the diocese, said last week that a minister is available for Chaanine at his request.

He said the diocese wants to be “abundantly cautious” because of the difficult situation.

Though diocesan officials want to provide for spiritual and emotional support for everyone involved, it doesn’t want to interfere in the legal process, McAuliffe said.

Pastor John Page, an assistant chaplain at the jail, has seen Chaanine about a dozen times.

“He was exhausted and depressed when he first came,” Page said. “Now he’s a little more hopeful.”

Chaanine’s trial is set for late July, but because of possible scheduling conflicts in the courts, it might get postponed until January 2008, said Jeff Banks, the chief deputy public defender who is defending Chaanine.

Banks wouldn’t comment in detail on the case. “We look forward to fighting these charges and getting to the bottom of these matters,” he said.

In letters, Chaanine appeared confident that he would be cleared of the charges.

“I am here imprisoned for a reason, and I’ll be freed for a reason, God willing,” he wrote.