Murderous church janitor had not been screened for past crimes

The man who murdered Reverend Edward Hinds, a pastor at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church in Chatham, New Jersey, was allegedly never put through a background check by the parish, according to The Daily Record. Jose Feliciano, a janitor at the church, fatally wounded Hinds in October of 2009. The news source points out that Hinds may have been on the verge of terminating Feliciano after he found out about his checkered past. This may have been the motive for the custodian to commit the crime. The Star Ledger notes that in a recoded interview, Feliciano admits that he stabbed Hinds during an argument after the priest threatened to fire him. Feliciano had charges of improper sexual conduct with a seven year-old girl filed against him in the Philadelphia three decades ago. However, the Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey, which contains 111 parishes including St. Patrick's, had not been prudent in screening employees who had contact with children. Catholic Online notes that a survey by the Georgetown University Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate found that in 2010, background checks had been conducted for more than 99 percent of clergy members, 99.8 percent of educators and 98.5 percent of church employees.