A Boynton Beach priest has been placed on administrative leave, with the Diocese of Palm Beach announcing that “serious allegations” had been made against him.
The Rev. Alex J. Vargas, pastor of St. Thomas More Catholic Church on Military Trail near Woolbright Road since August 2025, had his ministerial faculties withdrawn immediately on May 6 and he is prohibited from exercising priestly ministry.
The nature of the allegations has not been disclosed. The diocese has retained Renaissance Associates, Ltd., an independent firm, to conduct an investigation.
The allegations were reported to the Florida Department of Children and Families by Lisa Linnell, the diocese’s victim assistance coordinator, on June 18, according to a statement from the diocese.
Vargas had previously served the parish as an administrator and a vicar. He was born in 1971 in Honduras. The diocese appointed the Rev. Antony Pulikal as parochial administrator of St. Thomas.
The diocese encourages anyone who may have been a victim of abuse, misconduct, or criminal behavior by a representative of the church to come forward and report it through the diocese’s reporting line at 561-775-9558 or through the Florida Department of Children and Families Abuse Hotline at 800-962-2873.
— Janis Fontaine
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