Vatican investigation draws mixed reaction
Church members say bishop unresponsive
Several church members who are upset about the loss of their priest last year welcomed reports June 22 that the Vatican is investigating complaints about the leadership of Memphis Bishop Martin D. Holley.
Meanwhile, supporters of Holley who describe him as a holy and thoughtful man, said June 22 that the reassignment of Catholic priests is normal and some of the transfers were overdue.
And in a letter to local priests June 22, Holley asked that the priests refer any media inquiries about the apostolic visitation to a communications person.
Diocesan sources said the Vatican sent two archbishops to Memphis on a fact-finding mission this week. The sources said the inquiry centered on complaints about Holley’s reassignment of a high number of priests in the Catholic Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee and the assignment of the Rev. Monsignor Clement J. Machado to be the vicar general of the diocese.
“I think it’s finally here,” said Cathy Hurdle, a lifelong Catholic who has attended Incarnation Church in Collierville for 51⁄2 years and welcomed the investigation. “I’m excited about it, and I hope it validates all of our complaints and resets the mood, the excitement, dedication and the commitment to our faith in the diocese, which we had before (Holley) came on board.”
Hurdle and other parishioners protested the reassignment of the Rev. Ernie DeBlasio from Incarnation Church to St. Ann in Bartlett last year. Under DeBlasio’s leadership, Incarnation was growing in size, “participation in masses and charitable ministries increased, donations to our debt went up exponentially, tithing was up and people were coming in from all other churches to hear his homilies,” Hurdle said.
DeBlasio was reaching out to young people in the community, and “even my grandchildren wanted to come to church every Sunday to hear Father Ernie,” Hurdle said.
“Our momentum was just increasing, and we were all very happy parishioners.”
She said Holley was unresponsive to a letter-writing campaign protesting the move and that he failed to communicate what was happening or why.
“We were losing Father Ernie. We had no idea who was coming in,” she said.
She said she hopes the result of the investigation is getting a bishop who “wants to lead the diocese, be a communicator to his flock, look at priest placement in a more refined way and let us know what is happening in our diocese.
“I believe the bishop is responsible for ensuring the parishioners are happy with their parish leadership, and more than anything, be a part of the diocesan community.
“Nothing is worse than trying to lead from an ivory tower … and not the way Bishop (J. Terry) Steib led us for many wonderful years.”
Amanda Kinkade, who has also attended Incarnation for about 51⁄2 years, said the transfer of DeBlasio caused much confusion and sadness.
“We really didn’t understand the rationale behind the priest move,” she said.
She said she believes the investigation means that church leadership is listening.
“We feel like we have not had much communication from Bishop Holley,” she said.
“To now feel like somebody is listening and that our communication efforts did work, it feels amazing. It feels like we’re being heard. I think that’s really important when church is like your second home.”
Also on June 22, David Wade, who has attended St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Cordova the past three years, said many local Catholics were happy about the reassignments.
He said one of the beauties of the Catholic system is regularly relocating pastors so that parishioners don’t become more attached to a person than the faith experience.
“There was a problem with pastors who have been left in the same place a decade or more,” Wade said.
Wade attributed outcry over reassignments to a “handful of angry priests who felt like their ego wasn’t being stroked.”
“(Bishop Holley) doesn’t kowtow to the powers that be here,” Wade said. “There’s a lot of people who really love Bishop Holley. He’s a really holy man. He doesn’t pander to egos. The majority is really thankful he moved the pastors around. It was past due.”
Bryan Shaver, 55, of Olive Branch, who has attended several Shelby County churches and supports Holley, said the bishop can do “whatever he wants to do.”
“He’s got a big responsibility,” Shaver said. “Priests get transferred all the time. I just don’t understand what’s the big beef.
“My dad was a deacon in the diocese of Memphis. He was transferred as deacon. I guess (people upset over the transfers) don’t want to read up on how the Catholic Church works. It happens all the time. It happens in dioceses all over the country. I understand somebody likes a pastor, but my goodness.”
In a letter to priests June 22, Holley said that “many of you may have read, seen or heard news this week that an apostolic visitation was made to our diocese.”
“We are respectful of the confidentiality of the Apostolic Nunciature’s process and are thankful that some of you were invited to participate in that process,” he said.
“The purpose of an apostolic visitation is to assist the local diocese and improve the local Church’s ability to minister to the people it serves. My hope is that we continue that mission here together in our diocese.
“The goal continues to be for the common good of our local Church and the people entrusted to our care.
“As we move ahead, please defer responses to any media inquiries relating to this and refer them to Vince Higgins, Communications Director at the Catholic Center.”