By George Pawlaczyk
Belleville News-Democrat
March 21, 2008
http://www.bnd.com/homepage/story/286842.html
BELLEVILLE -- Days before Bishop Edward K. Braxton was installed in 2005, diocese priests called him to St. Peter Cathedral rectory and threatened to reveal incriminating information about him if he didn't refuse the appointment, Braxton said Thursday in a letter to parishioners.
The revelation was contained in a six-page statement to parishioners released Thursday in which Braxton states he will not resign -- his first response to a request signed by 46 priests and made public March 14 that he step down.
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| Bishop Edward K. Braxton |
Braxton thanked parishioners who have supported him during disputes with priests who accused him of misusing public funds and failing to communicate. He also thanked those who sent condolences after the recent death of his mother in Chicago.
Braxton described the 2005 meeting, called by the priests whom he had never met before, as "perhaps unprecedented in the history of the church in the United States." Shortly after the meeting, an anonymous caller contacted him on his private line, telling him, "We will not rest until we get rid of you," Braxton states.
"It is my intention to serve as Bishop of the Diocese of Belleville as long as the Holy Father wants me to do so," Braxton states to parishioners. He adds that this is the same response he gave the group of priests nearly three years ago.
Braxton states he was hesitant to reveal the secret meeting called by priests but decided to do so because "It may help (parishioners) to understand more recent experiences."
The Rev. Edward F. Schaefer, pastor of St. Rose Church in St. Rose, said Thursday that he was one of eight or nine priests who met in the cathedral rectory with Braxton and asked him to not accept the appointment as bishop.
Schaefer said no threats were made, but that Braxton was confronted with what he called "his record in other dioceses." He declined to be specific.
"We did not say we were going to work against him; we asked him not to come," Schaefer said.
As for the rest of Braxton's statement, Schaefer said: "He doesn't respond to the questions that we raised. So, it's disappointing."
Born in Chicago, Braxton, 63, came to Belleville from the Diocese of Lake Charles, La., where he served for 4 1/2 years. Before that, he served in St. Louis. He was ordained a bishop in 1995 and became Belleville's bishop on June 22, 2005.
"I do not see the church in political terms of opposing parties competing for power in an adversarial relationship played out in the secular media," Braxton states. He has said he will not talk with local reporters.
Braxton states that he, his clergy and lay people are not perfect and that he may "err in judgment, offend people, disappoint those who look to me for leadership." However, he states that differences in the church are best addressed "prayerfully, with God's grace."
A full page-and-a-half of the statement is devoted to Braxton's recollection of the meeting where he was pressured to step aside.
Braxton wrote that to his surprise, they spoke for more than two hours. "These priests told me there was a 'firestorm of hatred' against me in Belleville, that I was not welcome here," he said.
Braxton states: "They had investigated my history and could not find even one person from anyplace where I have served around the country who had anything positive to say about me. ... They also told me they had incriminating information against me which might be released, if I did not heed their words."
Braxton said he listened without interruption, then told the priests he intended to serve.
In the request March 14 for him to resign, priests cited Braxton's use last year of about $17,100 in donations to specified funds to buy ceremonial garments and furniture. Braxton has apologized publicly for misusing the money and promised that it would be repaid from unrestricted funds.
The request to resign also alleged Braxton has failed for years to communicate with priests and other clergy or to respond to requests for information about financial matters.
The Rev. Jerry Wirth, pastor of St. Joseph Church in Olney and head of the Presbyteral Council that pushed for Braxton to make a financial accounting, declined to comment. "I'm not reacting until after Easter," Wirth said.
"I kind of expected what he said. And he has a right to say what he did," said the Rev. Dennis Voss, pastor of St. Liborius Church in St. Libory and member of the diocesan finance council. Voss was one of 16 finance council members who complained in December to the pope's U.S. representative in Washington, D.C., about Braxton's use of the funds.
A national order of nuns with a headquarters in Ruma -- The Adorers of the Precious Blood -- sent a letter signed by six of their leaders in February to the pope's U.S. representative asking for "outside intervention" to restore "peace and trust" in the far-flung diocese, which includes much of southern Illinois and takes in about 100,000 Roman Catholics.
Contact reporter George Pawlaczyk at gpawlaczyk@bnd.com and 239-2625.
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