Elena 
I blogged last week about the unfortunate situation my family and I found ourselves in, when the popular young associate pastor stood up at the end of the mass to announce that he was taking a leave from ministry with the permission of our bishop.
Apparently Father King made this announcement at all the weekend masses, including the youth mass. It is also up on the parish web site so clearly this is very public information.
What is missing however was a counter balance to the things that Father King said in his farewell address to put things in clear perspective.
First of all, I do think it is important and proper to make an announcement to the parish community when something like this has occurred. The first part of Father King’s speech I actually liked. It was reassuring. It mentions that he did seek and receive the permission of the bishop, and that he was leaving for his own reasons, but not because of misconduct or scandal. Fair enough. If he had jumped then to the part about being grateful to have served at the church, thank his brother priest, his family and asked for prayers, that would have been very gracious and more than enough.
I think a written announcement in the bulletin also would have been just as appropriate. Here is a sample.
I am very sorry to announce that this is my last weekend here. I have asked for and received a leave of absence from the bishop. I want to be very clear that I am leaving for personal reasons, and not because of any scandal or misconduct. I have very much enjoyed my time with all of you and your families. I will keep you all in my prayers and ask that you will keep me in yours.
Succinct, short, sweet, to the point and also very gracious.
Father King did not choose that path however. Instead he opted to express his disagreement with the Catholic Church regarding the celibacy of priests and he gave a mini apologetics course to support his dissenting view. There were four problems with his presentation.
1. He mentions three times what HE wants.
“I want to share what I admire in all of you.”
“I want to be with a woman that I love.”
“I want to raise a family.”
Begs the question where is God in this?
2. Using the phrase,”woman that I love” does suggest scandal. I don’t know what else to think? How else does a celibate priest get to know a woman well enough to think about marrying her, unless he has been neglecting his duties as a celibate priest to pursue an illicit relationship. Father said he was not leaving for misconduct or scandal, and yet that phrase implies both.
3. Father King mentions three references to support a married priesthood: The
Pastoral constitution P 87, Titus Chapter 1 vs 5 and 1 Corinthians Chapter 9:5. He does not even acknowledge the other church documents and scripture that support a celibate priest hood. See my prior post. And of course he keeps mentioning St. Hilary and the 11 popes that were married, but the most obvious celibate priest he never mentions – Jesus Christ.
4. Finally why should he dump his garbage on the rest of us, particularly the youth, and particularly at mass? Mass should be the one place that a believer can come to be refreshed and strengthened in his faith, not assaulted by the dissent of his/her priest.
This particular church, St. Hilary, is known for holding down the left flank of the Catholic Church in this area. I couldn’t help but wonder if Father King had been in a more conservative parish, like the inner city St. Mary’s, if he would have chosen another course. Also, Bishop Lennon is rather new in our area. However I wonder if this had happened in the Diocese of Lincoln Nebraska under Bishop Bruskewitz, if this leave of absence and time of discernment would have been required to take place in Rome!
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