The reassignment of pastor Fr. James Radloff to a small parish on the
Oregon-California border has been temporarily withdrawn by Bishop Liam
Cary of the Baker, Ore., diocese.
In a letter dated Nov. 5 and received by Radloff in Chicago, where he
is staying with his mother, Cary said the priest and his canonical
adviser violated confidentiality.
"In view of some of your recent Facebook postings (especially those
of 23, 24 and 25 October) and other developments, I have decided against
sending you to Merrill," Cary said in the letter.
"While your placement
is under consideration, you may wish to prolong your stay in Illinois
into December. I will be gone for the next week and a half. When I
return, Fr. [Richard] Fischer will be in touch with you about these
matters."
Fischer is diocesan vicar general and is listed on the diocese's
website as administrator of St. Augustine Parish in Merrill, Ore., a
town of about 900. Radloff was to serve in Merrill beginning at the end
of this month.
Radloff was relieved of his duties
as pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Bend in early October and
has filed an appeal with the Vatican. His removal has caused much anger
and confusion among parishioners, and several officers of the parish
resigned.
Adding to the anxiety: The reasons for Radloff's dismissal
remain under wraps, and he is not allowed to disclose them.
Fr. W. Thomas Faucher, Radloff's canonical adviser and procurator,
made a section of Cary's latest letter to Radloff available to NCR on Sunday.
In it, Cary mentions news coverage of the appeal in NCR and The Bulletin in Bend. NCR coverage included material from an Oct. 30 statement by Radloff provided to the news organization through Faucher.
The appeal of his removal was filed with the Vatican Congregation for
Clergy on Oct. 18 by Faucher, a canon lawyer and priest of the Boise,
Idaho, diocese, where he is pastor of St. Mary's Parish.
"Father Radloff will comply with the request of Bishop Cary and not
return to his diocese until requested to do so," Faucher told NCR.
"On Sept. 10, 2013, you promised to 'uphold' what you acknowledged to
be 'the confidential nature of the documents and communications that
make up the Acts' of your case," Cary writes in the Nov. 5 letter,
adding: "You further promised to use this information 'solely ... in the
canonical forum as foreseen by canon law.' Your rights in that forum
have been and will be fully respected; therein you can make whatever
arguments you wish to. Canon law does not foresee that you or your
canonical advisor will extend that argumentation to the pages of the National Catholic Reporter, The Bend Bulletin, or Facebook."
Faucher said he planned to express "umbrage" to the bishop over the accusation of a confidentiality breach.
In an email, Faucher wrote, "Nothing in Fr. Radloff's written statement to National Catholic Reporter or my comments to either NCR or the The Bulletin
newspaper in Bend violated the confidentiality agreement" that both
priests signed as a condition to be allowed to read the reasons outlined
by the bishop in his formal decree of removal.
"Nothing learned in the official acts of the case has ever been disclosed," Faucher said.
Radloff acknowledges confidentiality in his Oct. 30 statement:
"Bishop Cary ... has forbidden me or my canonical advisor from revealing
what the reasons are" for terminating his pastoral role. Radloff also
emphasized that as part of his appeal, he is asking the Congregation for
Clergy for permission to publicly divulge the reasons Cary used to
justify the removal.
Cary has refused to discuss reasons for the dismissal, writing in an
Oct. 1 letter to St. Francis parishioners that he was "not at liberty"
to do so.
That letter also lauded Radloff for his hard work and
accomplishments at the parish, declared that he remains a priest in good
standing, and said the priest did nothing illegal.
St. Francis is Bend's largest parish and has struggled with financial
challenges, including support of a parish elementary school and a $6.4
million church building project, in recent years.
Parishioners,
including members of the stewardship group, parish council and finance
committee, credited Radloff with reinvigorating the parish. Mass
attendance, contributions and school support noticeably improved since
he became pastor in December 2011, they said.
According to Radloff's Oct. 30 statement:
- On Aug. 1, Cary asked him to resign as pastor;
- The priest "responded by asking for mediation and reconciliation, which requests were rejected";
- Radloff and Faucher were consequently "informed of the five reasons for my removal" by Cary;
- In response, Faucher "submitted a long legal brief rejecting all of the reasons," arguing that they did not meet the criteria for removal found in canon law; and
- Those "detailed objections were simply dismissed by Bishop Cary in one-sentence rejection of them."