THE US: Bishop Thomas J O'Brien, the head of the Roman Catholic diocese of Phoenix, Arizona, has been accused of leaving the scene of a car accident in which a father of four was killed and left lying on a busy highway.
The hit-and-run charge comes just two weeks after the spiritual leader of Arizona's 430,000 Catholics narrowly avoided indictment on obstruction-of-justice charges related to sex abuse cases in the diocese.
The extraordinary incident compounds the acute embarrassment for the Catholic Church in the USA over the resignation this week of the head of a lay sex abuse panel who accused some US bishops of mafia-like secrecy in their handling of sex scandals.
Bishop O'Brien was said to have been driving his tan Buick sedan on Glendale Avenue, Phoenix, when it struck and killed Mr Jim Reed, 43, at 8:35 pm on Saturday. He was charged with leaving the scene of an accident and released on bail of $45,000.
The 67-year-old Bishop was also ordered to forfeit his passport and remain in Arizona prior to a court hearing on June 25th.
On Sunday, according to court records, a fellow priest told the Bishop that police were looking for him after a witness gave them a partial registration number that was traced to a diocesan vehicle.
However the Bishop did not contact police and on Monday morning made telephone calls to have his damaged windscreen repaired.
Police arrived at his residence soon afterwards and found front-end damage and a shattered windshield on the passenger's side of his Buick.
Phoenix police spokesman Segreant Randy Force told reporters, "The damage was consistent with a pedestrian impact." Agents impounded the car and the clothing the Bishop was wearing on Saturday.
Mr Reed was jay walking when he crossed the junction of two four-lane throughfares and was struck by two cars, the spokesman said. The second vehicle, which may have dragged him a considerable distance, has not been located.
Bishop O'Brien had been celebrating a confirmation mass on Saturday evening. He acknowledged he was driving the car at the time when the accident occurred but told police that he believed he had hit a dog or cat or that someone threw a stone at the windscreen.
When he was being charged in Maricopa County jail, the bishop suffered a dangerous rise in blood pressure and had to be taken for treatment to St Joseph's Hospital before returning for fingerprinting.
The case has shocked a diocese that has been under scrutiny for months over reports that the Bishop covered up sex abuse cases and moved around abusive priests.
Two weeks ago Bishop O'Brien finalised a deal with Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley under which he obtained immunity from prosecution.
As part of the deal he admitted that he allowed priests "under my supervision to work with minors after becoming aware of allegations of sexual misconduct". He apologised and agreed to diocesan reforms.
Mr Romney said yesterday that he was "incredulous" when the was told that the bishop was involved in a hit-and-run case and he instructed his officials that he should not be treated any differently than anyone else.
He told a press conference yesterday that investigators were checking the Bishop's activities in the hours before the accident to see if he had consumed alcohol or drugs that could have caused impairment.
They should remember that "a person has died here, we can't forgive that," he said.