A judge’s decision Friday to spare Bishop Thomas J. O’Brien jail time for a hit-and-run conviction left one family silent, the other family giddy and the prosecutor seething.

The state rested its case Monday in the hit-and-run trial of Bishop Thomas J. O’Brien.

The fate of Bishop Thomas J. O’Brien was the overriding question Tuesday among many Valley Catholics, as speculation grew over whether he can effectively continue leading the nearly half-million members of the Phoenix diocese.

During a police interrogation June 16 at his home, the Most Rev. Thomas J. O'Brien had just been told he could be charged with a crime if he fled the scene of a fatal collision.

Thomas J. O’Brien’s resignation as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix was announced Wednesday in the wake of relentless scandals involving his handling of priest sex abuse accusations and a criminal charge of fleeing the scene of a fatal accident.

The word "fatal" is scrawled in bold letters across the left corner of 11-year-old Crystal Barker's faded police report.

PHOENIX - A judge on Monday entered an innocent plea on behalf of Bishop Thomas O'Brien to charges of leaving the scene of a fatal collision.

Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien was arrested Monday afternoon in connection with leaving the scene of a fatal hit-and-run accident.

PHOENIX - The Roman Catholic bishop of Phoenix has relinquished some of his authority in an unprecedented agreement with prosecutors that will spare him from indictment on charges of protecting child-molesting priests.

PHOENIX - The Roman Catholic bishop of Phoenix has relinquished some of his authority in an unprecedented agreement with prosecutors that will spare him from indictment on charges of protecting child-molesting priests.

Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas J. O’Brien is living in a different world than the rest of us.

ST. LOUIS - The archbishop assigned by the Vatican to temporarily run the Diocese of Phoenix said Friday he’ll uphold a deal that the former bishop struck with a local prosecutor.

Maricopa County Attorney Richard Romley said late Sunday he will hold a press conference at 11 a.m. today to discuss his investigation into the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix and how it has handled allegations of sexual abuse.

A lifeguard testified Wednesday that a pedestrian allegedly struck by the car of Catholic Bishop Thomas O’Brien was seriously injured but apparently still alive minutes after the accident.

Police suspect the man the Most Rev. Thomas J. O’Brien struck in a hit-and-run may have been intoxicated at the time, but investigators say the victim’s condition is of little importance in the case.

Bishop Thomas J. O’Brien, already entangled in a simmering controversy over his handling of sexual misconduct allegations against priests, was arrested Monday on suspicion of fleeing the scene of a fatal hit-and-run Saturday night.

Attorneys for Bishop Thomas O'Brien, former head of the Roman Cathoic Diocese in Phoenix, denied prosecutors' allegations Tuesday that they were acting in bad faith and "playing games" in the hit-and-run case.

Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien was charged Tuesday with fleeing a fatal accident that killed a Phoenix carpenter, just two weeks and a day after prosecutors announced a deal with the Roman Catholic leader for covering up a sex abuse scandal.

The guilty verdict against Bishop Thomas J. O’Brien on Tuesday saddened many East Valley Catholics, yet none of those interviewed felt the jury made a wrong decision.

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, a Catholic, didn’t flinch Monday when he compared the two past Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix bishops and their levels of cooperation in prosecuting priests.

Sultana Klatt made certain that former Bishop Thomas O’Brien was comfortable and well-fed during the dozen years she was his housekeeper. But for 24 hours in September 1987, her mission was to provide all the comforts of home to Pope John Paul II.

April 5, 2005

PHOENIX - Bishop Thomas O’Brien, who had faced allegations of covering up for sexually abusive clergy and now has been charged in a fatal hit-and-run accident, resigned Wednesday.

The Catholic bishop of Wichita said he "just got rid of a very heavy coat as I got off the plane" when he arrived Thursday at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.