Parishioners protest priest reassignments across the diocese

Should a Catholic parish be allowed to keep a beloved priest, no matter how long he has been there?

Should a bishop be allowed to reassign any priest, or all priests, at any time, no matter what parishioners want?

Is a priest primarily a pastoral shepherd for his parish or a parochial administrator for his bishop?

These are some of the questions widely and passionately debated this month across the Catholic Diocese of Memphis.

Nowhere is the debate more active or serious than at the Church of the Incarnation in Collierville.

The Rev. Ernie DeBlasio, Incarnation’s pastor since June 2014, is one of dozens of parish priests reassigned by new Bishop Martin Holley.

“We love Father Ernie, and we are praying that Bishop Holley will have a change of heart,” said parishioner Amanda Kinkade. They are doing more than praying. Kinkade and other members of Incarnation’s Save Our Shepherd (SOS) team plan to formally appeal Holley’s decision.

They’ve written letters to Holley and sent him a formal request for a meeting.

They’ve collected more than 800 signatures on a petition asking Holley to reconsider and keep DeBlasio at Incarnation.

Holley has not responded.

Incarnation parishioners aren’t giving up.

They’ve written letters to Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the pope’s ambassador to Washington; and the Roman Curia, the Vatican’s central government.

Only Pierre has responded, saying he is aware of the situation.

DeBlasio, who officially has been reassigned to St. Ann parish in Bartlett,