BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe
By Michael Paulson, Globe Staff | September 28, 2005
In an indication that a Newton pastor's position on gay rights may have played a role in his ouster, a conservative website has posted a letter from a top archdiocesan official saying that Roman Catholic Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley had been ''very disturbed" by an accusation that the pastor had invited parishioners to consider marching in a gay-rights parade in Boston last spring.
O'Malley's spokesman said last night he could not authenticate the letter, which is posted on the website of the antiabortion organization Operation Rescue Boston, but he insisted that the archbishop sought the resignation of the Rev. Walter H. Cuenin from his post as pastor of Our Lady Help of Christians Church in Newton solely because of financial improprieties, and not because of church politics.
''I can't vouch for this letter's authenticity, but it doesn't change the dynamics of what happened here, which is that Father Cuenin broke archdiocesan policy, and by virtue of his agreeing to reimburse us, he obviously concurs," said the spokesman, Terrence C. Donilon. ''Seventy-five thousand dollars is a lot of money, and we cannot ignore the financial piece of this. We cannot allow one pastor to operate under a separate set of guidelines or rules."