A priest at a Michigan parish has resigned his post following a controversy over an “openly gay” author’s appearance at the parish parochial school’s pre-kindergarten class. Father Thomas Held has resigned from the pastorship at St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Beal City “effective immediately,” Diocese of Saginaw Bishop Robert Gruss said in a statement on Tuesday. The parish and Held himself have …More
A priest at a Michigan parish has resigned his post following a controversy over an “openly gay” author’s appearance at the parish parochial school’s pre-kindergarten class. Father Thomas Held has resigned from the pastorship at St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Beal City “effective immediately,” Diocese of Saginaw Bishop Robert Gruss said in a statement on Tuesday. The parish and Held himself have been at the center of controversy since last month after area author Dominic Thrasher made an appearance at the parish’s school to read one of his children’s books, which are based on his family’s dogs. Thrasher has identified himself as “openly gay.” About a week after he visited the school, the church’s Facebook page was updated with a message from Held in which he wrote that “a guest who does not represent the values of our Catholic faith read to our pre-k children” as part of a schoolwide reading program. “To my knowledge, the book and any related conversation [were] appropriate for our students. A St. Joseph teacher was present in the room at all times,” the priest wrote.
saginaw.org
Statement from Bishop Robert Gruss
Because of the unfortunate situation at St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Beal City, Fr. Thomas Held has come to the decision that it would be impossible for him to bring …
I recall in the 1950s there were divorced acquaintances of my parents with whom my parents would no longer socialize because these acquaintances had remarried outside of the Church and my parents' further association with the couple was contrary to the Church teaching on marriage. They did not say that to me in so many words (as I was a child) but I had a distinct understanding of the who, what, …More
I recall in the 1950s there were divorced acquaintances of my parents with whom my parents would no longer socialize because these acquaintances had remarried outside of the Church and my parents' further association with the couple was contrary to the Church teaching on marriage. They did not say that to me in so many words (as I was a child) but I had a distinct understanding of the who, what, and why of it.
What are the details of this very sad and scandalously appalling situation? Who invited the self avowed, arrogantly proud sodomite to read to the children in the first place? Did the Pastor know about his degenerate proclivities before he was invited to the school, and yet gave his sanction and approval? Who was responsible for the invitation and for setting up the event?
