Priest convicted after setting up a drug kitchen

"Crystal Meth Priest": Three Guilty Verdicts

A former priest appeared before the Krems Regional Court on Thursday with two co-defendants. The trio, along with an accomplice, allegedly planned to produce crystal meth last year. They were not found guilty by a final court decision.

The plan allegedly failed due to faulty instructions. One of the accused, a 31-year-old Iraqi, failed to appear at the hearing, and the case against him was dismissed. The three men present pleaded guilty to illicit handling of drug precursors at the beginning of the single-judge hearing.

The priest received a 22-month suspended sentence, with 19 months suspended. In addition to the 39-year-old, who previously served as a priest in the Waldviertel region and now works as an insurance advisor, two Czech nationals, each 24 years old, appeared in court. One of the two received a partially suspended sentence of 15 months, 13 of which were suspended. The other received a six-month suspended sentence.

The several months of pre-trial detention last year will be credited to each of the men, meaning they will no longer have to serve prison. The defendants waived their right to appeal. Because the public prosecutor did not file a statement, the verdicts are not final.

Rectory as a drug storage facility

The priest is alleged to have ordered drug precursors – specifically, ten liters of hydrochloric acid, one and a half liters of diethyl ether, and three liters of acetone – online in June and July 2024, together with one of the 24-year-olds. After delivery to a parcel station in the Czech Republic, the substances were picked up and taken to the Waldviertel region to produce one kilo of crystal meth, according to the criminal complaint.

According to the indictment, the substances were stored in the 39-year-old's parsonage. Attempts to produce methamphetamine are also said to have taken place there on July 13 and from July 20 to 21. After the production failed, the 31-year-old is said to have stored chemicals in his apartment from July 22 to 25, 2024.

"Personal crisis" led priest to drug addiction

A "spiritual crisis" of her client led to the crime; he "no longer felt at home in the church," said Astrid Wagner, the former priest's defense attorney. The 39-year-old had taken drugs and then came up with the idea of ​​producing addictive substances himself. Wagner spoke of an "absolutely ineffective attempt" that was "doomed to failure from the start" and requested leniency.

"At the time, I was in an unbelievable life, spiritual, and psychological crisis," the 39-year-old reported, describing himself as suffering from depression. "It was the end of the world." He felt lonely in the Waldviertel region and began taking drugs. He was repeatedly praised by the parish, but "knew that everything I was doing was just an act" and wanted to leave the church. He became addicted to his crystal meth use.

Priest takes responsibility

In order to produce drugs himself, he researched, created instructions in several languages, and ordered laboratory equipment, the former priest explained. "I was responsible for the drug production," his assistants "had no idea what they were doing." However, the attempt failed.

One substance was missing, it was said. The 39-year-old regretted what he had done because it had also disappointed his family, friends, and his former parish. One of the two Czechs stated, according to an interpreter, that he had participated due to financial problems. According to him, he would have received a portion of the profits if he had sold the drug.

Following a search of the rectory in question, the case became known to the media in July 2024. The priest was arrested, but was released from custody towards the end of the previous year. According to the Narcotics Act, a prison sentence of up to five years would have been possible.

The priest also faced consequences from the church: The man was "immediately relieved of his duties in the Diocese of St. Pölten," it was stated.

Source

Cathcon: The wages of modernist infidelity.  The priesthood crisis is deep as many of the few that think they have a vocation are unfaithful.