CV NEWS FEED // A Catholic Michigan pastor has resigned from his parish following continued backlash over his response to a controversy about a gay author invited to read at a diocesan school.
Fr. Thomas Held of the Diocese of Saginaw faced criticism in March after he apologized for a diocesan preschool’s invitation to local author Dominic Thrasher to read his book, “The Adventures of CeCe and The Sheriff,” to students.
“The central characters of the book are two dogs, who were inspired by Thrasher’s own dog, as well as his sister’s dog,” CatholicVote reported on March 21. “Although the book contained no allusions to the author’s sexuality, concerned parents messaged (Fr. Held) the pastor associated with the preschool about the author, who is in a ‘civil union’ with another man.”
In a Facebook post that has since been taken down, Fr. Held apologized for the school inviting Thrasher to read the book. Fr. Held’s apology stated that Thrasher “does not represent the values of our Catholic faith read to our Pre-K children as part of March is Reading Month.”
Some members of the St. Joseph the Worker Parish, where Fr. Held has been serving as pastor, criticized the apology as hurtful and unnecessary. Supporters of Thrasher called for Fr. Held’s resignation, and protested outside of the church.
On April 16, Bishop Robert Gruss of Saginaw issued a statement announcing Fr. Held’s departure from the parish.
“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 unity to the parish, and therefore, he has tendered his resignation as the pastor, effective immediately,” Bishop Gruss stated.
He added that a visiting priest will celebrate Mass on the weekends until a new pastor is assigned to the parish.
“The division, lack of charity and the wounds caused by the division in the St. Joseph the Worker Parish community has brought deep sadness to the Lord Jesus, especially when we are living in the Light of the Resurrection we celebrated on Easter Sunday,” Bishop Gruss continued:
Jesus weeps when he sees division and disunity in the Body of Christ, his Church. It is not his desire nor his will. The Gospel of Jesus calls all of us to be a healing presence in the community in which we live and worship. “So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.” Matthew 18:35
He concluded, “My prayers and concern go out to all the members of St. Joseph the Worker Catholic community, that Christ’s peace may be a uniting force for a greater good.”
