By Tim Townsend
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
March 14, 2008
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/religion/story/9CC3A49E7C1E6A328625740C005D6B70?OpenDocument
Nearly two thirds of the pastors in the Belleville diocese have signed a letter to Bishop Edward Braxton requesting his resignation.
The letter was delivered to Braxton after a meeting of priests in Germantown Wednesday. The 44 priests who signed it released the letter publicly today. The Rev. Dennis Voss said the letter would also be forwarded to Cardinal Francis George, the archbishop of Chicago and Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Vatican's representative in Washington.
 |
| MARCH 15, 2005 -- Bishop Edward K. Braxton shown by St. Peter's Cathedral shortly after he was announced in 2005 as the new bishop of Belleville. Photo by Gabriel B. Tait |
The letter comes two months after Braxton publicly apologized for spending about $18,000 from restricted diocesan and Vatican funds, and it says the priests have become "increasingly frustrated by the lack of collaborative and consultative leadership" from Braxton.
"Therefore," they wrote, "it is requested that Bishop Braxton resign from his office as Bishop of the Diocese of Belleville for his own good, for the good of the Diocese and for the good of the presbyterate."
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.