BEYOND BELIEF

Religious cult of silence kept murderer safe

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THE Roman Catholic Church's infamous cult of silence extends beyond cases of sexual abuse, sources tell The National ENQUIRER — and even includes murder when it comes to protecting one of its own!

Sixty-five years ago, a 25-year-old second-grade teacher who worked with indigent kids in McAllen, Texas, near the Mexican border, was found brutally raped and drowned. Irene Garza, a devout Catholic and local homecoming queen who was crowned the 1958 Miss All South Texas Sweetheart, was last seen attending evening confession at Sacred Heart Church in McAllen on April 16, 1960.

Garza's disappearance ignited a furious search — the largest in the region to that date — but it wasn't until the 21st that her bruised and battered body was found in a local canal, with all forensic evidence washed away.

Cops interviewed nearly 500 people, but suspicion soon fell upon the 27-year-old churchman, Father John Feit, who oddly had heard Garza's confession on the 16th in the church rectory rather than in the confessional.