“I am shocked, flabbergasted,” Terry Mertick said Thursday. “I am not a priest of theirs, but I am a priest. This the modern version of a stoning.”
Mertick said he is a priest of the Old Roman Catholic Church of Canada - a registered charity that lists him as a bishop - and has never claimed to be a Roman Catholic priest.
The Roman Catholic diocese of London, Ont., where he lives, sent a news release to city media Thursday saying Mertick has been offering service as a priest in funeral and nursing homes.
“Mr. Mertick is not, and never has been, a priest of the Roman Catholic Church,” Mark Adkinson, director of communications for the diocese said in a statement.
Adkinson said the diocese is sending a warning letter to all funeral homes in London and will do the same to health care facilities as well.
“We are very concerned that a person would choose to impersonate a priest, counsel grieving families and falsely celebrate a Roman Catholic liturgy,” the warning stated.
Adkinson said the diocese was contacted by a parishioner who attended a funeral and recognized Mertick’s name.