CHATHAM, N.J. (RNS) As they continue to mourn their pastor who was stabbed to death in the parish rectory, members of St. Patrick Catholic Church also are trying to practice what they preach.

They are trying to forgive, though they admit it isn’t always easy.

The congregation is allowing the daughter of the priest’s accused killer and the church’s longtime janitor, Jose Feliciano, to continue attending the church’s elementary school. His wife remains a member of the parish’s home and school association, trustee John Polanin said.

Polanin acknowledges that members’ faith has been tested.

“Everybody involved was hurt very badly,” he said. “It’s difficult because of the situation, but in the end that was the right thing to do. We’re struggling with our feelings. Everybody is trying to forgive.”

While the church mourns the Rev. Edward Hinds, the priest’s accused killer maintains his innocence. In a March 3 court appearance, Feliciano, 64, of Easton, Pa., pleaded not guilty to murdering Hinds in the parish rectory on Oct. 22 by stabbing him 32 times with a knife.

Feliciano has been indicted on two counts of murder, as well as robbery (of Hinds’ cell phone), possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, hindering his own apprehension and unlawful possession of a knife.

“How does Mr. Feliciano plead to those charges?” Judge Thomas Manahan asked.

“Not guilty,” defense attorney Neill Hamilton replied.

It is still too soon for any plea deal to be offered or possible defenses to be raised, the judge said. Prosecutors so far have turned over to the defense nearly 4,000 pages of documents and items in the information-sharing phase of a criminal case known as discovery, Morris County Assistant Prosecutor David Bruno said.

“The state does not feel the timing is appropriate to offer a plea due to the voluminous discovery,” Manahan said.

Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Robert Lane noted the grand jury also had handed up a “finding of aggravating factors,” that the “murder was outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman in that it involved torture or depravity of mind.” The finding is a legal step that could make Feliciano eligible for life without parole should he be convicted.

Hinds was found dead Oct. 23 in the rectory kitchen after parishioners became concerned when he did not show up for morning Mass.

Feliciano, who feigned surprise at finding Hinds at the same time as the parishioners, came under suspicion when he half-heartedly attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Hinds, authorities have said. Police later connected him to the crime and arrested him the next day; he has been in custody in lieu of $1 million bail since his arrest.

A possible motive for the killing was revealed in a four-page search warrant for Feliciano’s home. Several weeks before he was slain, Hinds discovered that Feliciano’s employment record did not include the requisite citation indicating he had passed a criminal background check. Two days before the attack, Hinds told the St. Patrick school principal of the discrepancy and said Feliciano might have to be “let go,” court records said.

Feliciano had been wanted in Philadelphia on a charge of indecent assault of a minor from 1988 and had been using several false names and Social Security numbers over the years, authorities have said.

As the criminal case proceeds in court, the parish has taken steps to move on. Three weeks ago, Hinds’ replacement, the Rev. Robert Mitchell, was welcomed. The parish knows the criminal case could take a year or more to resolve, and periodic court hearings will be “reminders of the hurt,” Polanin said.

Also reminding parishioners of the tragedy will be Feliciano’s wife and daughter.

“When you think about it, she’s also a victim — she lost her father. And the wife lost her husband,” Polanin said.

(Jim Lockwood writes for The Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J.)