With the release of the arrest warrant and the accusations it contained, to say that I, (we, all the friars) are heartbroken is an understatement. I am left shocked, speechless and disgusted. I can’t even find words to express all of the emotions which flood my heart. It appears as if there were two Michaels. The one I thought I knew, and many of us thought we knew, was so radically different, from the one who is spoken about in the documents released this week.
Many times when I speak to families going through difficult situations, they lament that they were the last to know what was going on. Sadly, tragically, I feel the same way now.The accusations I read in the arrest warrant are so radically different from what we promise and what we aspire to as friar priests. I know that all of us are broken and that all of us are sinners. We all know that priests are no exception. I know that God is merciful, but all of that doesn’t keep me from being disappointed and so very sad. Sad for the young person mentioned in the court documents, sad for Fr. Michael, sad for our parish and so very sad for our broken humanity so in need of God’s loving redemption.
Once again, I am so sorry for all of this scandal, disappointment and hurt you have suffered and will probably continue to suffer because of the accusations against Fr. Michael. I am sorry if the media has bothered you as you tried to go into Church and pray or register your child for school. I am sorry if people at work or friends have used this very public occasion of our brokenness to speak unfavorably about the Church or the priesthood and make you feel uncomfortable.
I have been holding this parish in prayer for so long, to be honest sometimes I’m just plain weary; but I trust in God’s goodness, I surrender my will, my pain, my anger, and my shame to God, and I believe that we will receive every grace we need to see ourselves and this beautiful parish through these most difficult times.
I’ve just returned from a Response Team Meeting and we are resolved to face this tragedy head on. In the near future, we will be holding a meeting for all parents of our parish and our school. The meeting will include a child psychologist and other experts who will try to help our parents process all of this with their children. We all know that Fr. Michael was very popular with the children of our parish and several people have requested this type of intervention from the Response Team. It is our intention to try and meet this need.
In the near future, we will present you with a plan for future initiatives to make us all aware of the dangers present to the children in our world and especially on the internet. With all of the technology in our lives, there is a whole new world out there and in some cases our young people know more about it than we do.
Finally, in the fall we will redouble our spiritual efforts to deepen our relationship with Christ through the practice of Eucharistic Adoration and the opportunity of confessions on a weekly basis. From this Sunday on, I ask that every member of our Parish regularly pray the Prayer for St. Paul Church which will be distributed at all the Masses this weekend. I ask you to join the friars in praying this prayer every day. Trust, Surrender, Believe, Receive