the movie's director was defrocked for going way over budget

Recent Examples on the Web

On Friday, a Russian Orthodox Church panel in Yekaterinburg ruled to defrock Father Sergiy for breaking monastic rules. Washington Post, "Russian court fines coronavirus-denying rebel monk," 7 July 2020

From 2004 to 2014 — roughly the years of Benedict’s papacy with a year on each bookend — some 848 priests were defrocked around the world and another 2,572 were sanctioned to lesser penalties, according to Vatican statistics. Nicole Winfield, BostonGlobe.com, "Vatican tribunal now overwhelmed by clergy abuse cases," 20 Dec. 2019

After the charter was established in 2002, some critics say dioceses were more likely to simply defrock priests and return them to private citizenship. Claudia Lauer And Meghan Hoyer, chicagotribune.com, "Without oversight, scores of accused priests live under the radar and commit crimes," 5 Oct. 2019

Served at: Parkview Hospital, St. Pius X Parish Current status: Burke voluntarily sought and received laicization, or was defrocked, in December 1973. Jessica Seaman, The Denver Post, "Colorado Catholic Church sexual abuse: Who are the 40 priests named in the report?," 23 Oct. 2019

Though Brown was stripped of his authority to act publicly as a priest, he wasn’t laicized, or defrocked, until September 2019. David Tarrant, Dallas News, "Lawsuit says Dallas diocese did not protect young girl from priest’s abuse," 1 Feb. 2020

Such behavior eventually got him defrocked, in 1955, but Peters was unfazed. Ben Downing, WSJ, "‘The Professor and the Parson’ Review: Father of Lies," 31 Jan. 2020

The church defrocked him in July, after French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin was convicted of covering up for Preynat’s actions. Washington Post, "Trial delayed for French priest accused of abusing 75 boys," 13 Jan. 2020

From 2004 to 2014 — roughly the years of Benedict’s papacy with a year on each bookend — some 848 priests were defrocked around the world and another 2,572 were sanctioned to lesser penalties, according to Vatican statistics. Nicole Winfield, Anchorage Daily News, "Vatican office struggles to keep up with rise in clergy abuse cases," 21 Dec. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'defrock.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.