For the love of all that is holy, say it ain't so! Pennsylvania minister Gregory Malia, known for living it up at New York nightclubs and spending over $35,000 a night, has been stripped of his robes by church officials. The Daily News reports he was kicked out of the Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem, Pa on grounds that he had "abandoned the communion of this church." What, just for enjoying a little Dom Perignon? Oh, actually it's for pulling out a gun in a club.
Ex-Rev. Malia was arrested last July for pulling out a gun when a fight broke out between his daughters and another girl at a Pennsylvania club, allegedly pointing the gun at his daughters' boyfriends so his daugthers and another girl could duke it out. He was arrested for aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct. According to Bishop Paul Marshall, Malia has not renounced charges that he violated church canons, and has been "deprived of the right to exercise the gifts of spiritual authority as a minister of God's word and sacrament conferred on him at his ordination." Malia made his money from owning a specialty pharmacy that catered to hemophiliacs like himself.
