LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Church Needs to Follow Facts, Ask Tough Questions

Dear Editor,

I am a parishoner of St. Joan of Arc parish and my four children have attended faith formation St. Margaret Mary’s. My daughter was a cantor for years. My children helped teach faith formation and were counselors at the summer camp. We pledged funds to the basement renovation. I ran the coat drive and helped with morning donuts and coffee after mass. I mention this only to say that we are active parishoners and consider St. Margaret Mary’s a big part of our life. I have spoken to Ms. Duffy and Father Norwood. Several parishoners and I have spoken to many Parish Council members. I like to collect facts before I state my opinion.

I understand that there are often two sides to every story but we have some facts that are indisputable. Ms. Duffy was abruptly terminated in a cloud of secrecy and darkness. The Parish Council (as a whole – not a chosen few) had NO idea about her exit until after she was terminated. They also had no idea about a different plan for faith formation before Ms. Duffy was let go. Those are facts.

Father Norwood and the Church have had ample time to respond appropriately. Why no announcement? Why no good-bye party? Why fire a teacher and start a whole new program when classes are about to begin? This is after families registered and paid for a different program. Instead vague emails and responses with undertones of wrongdoing or silence were offered to parishoners. Ms. Duffy was given a letter of termination. She was let go for no cause. In that letter Father Norwood wrote “the needs of the parish have changed” and he “decided to restructure the entire religious education program”. If there were any issues or performance concerns they would be in that letter. Those are also facts. No one would be upset if needs had changed or possibly a restructure was warranted but the lack of outreach to the community for feedback, timing of the change and Unchristian manner of eliminating the position seem reckless.

I think many of us, myself included, were very excited for Father Norwood’s arrival. He has dedicated his life to God and wants to do good. That is a fact for sure. However, this is a new role for him and that does not mean he is ready to be a leader or pastor of this parish. He needs to lead by example. He needs to be able to respond to a crisis. Our parish is torn apart and hopefully we can do good after this but to be blind to the facts and not asking tough questions doesn’t make this go away. A woman’s life – livelihood, community, and reputation - were almost destroyed in one fell swoop and the response was as bad as the action itself. Luckily, she has a community that has not turned their backs on her and will continue to support her.

Things could be great-but not until we fix what is broken. We cannot justify the end by ignoring egregious behavior. Let’s start by following the facts. I challenge members of the Parish Council to stop looking the other way or stating this is not their role. Their parish is in trouble.

Sheila Matthews